Bhawanipatna: A suspended Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) in Odisha’s Kalahandi district was arrested by the state Vigilance for allegedly embezzling government funds of over Rs 3 crore for cricket betting and online gaming, an official said. The arrested PEO was identified as Debananda Sagar. He was accused of embezzling public money to the tune of Rs 3.26 crore from Talnegi gram panchayat and Podapadar gram panchayat under Thuamal-Rampur block in Kalahandi district by abusing his official power and forging the signature of sarpanch of the panchayats, the official said. Sagar allegedly transferred to money to his personal bank account, he said. Debananda Sagar joined government service as PEO in 2016 and was posted to Talnegi gram panchayat. Later he was also put in charge of PEO of Podapadar gram panchayat. He misappropriated the government money from May 5, 2018 to March 17, 2022, the official said. “He used the government money on cricket betting through online portal,” the vigilance said in a statement. Earlier, in 2023, he was booked by Vigilance for misappropriation of government funds to the tune of Rs 1.04 crore and was placed under suspension. The Vigilance on Friday had arrested a panchayat executive officer (PEO) in Ganjam district for allegedly embezzling government funds of over Rs 43 lakh for cricket betting and online gaming.