Bhubaneswar, March 29: The crime branch's economic offences wing today arrested Dillip Kumar Mohanty, the stenographer at the Regional Medical Research Centre, for allegedly misappropriating Rs 1.22 crore.

Police said the accused forged the expenditure bills of various projects of the institute to misappropriate the money.

"In one incident, the institute has procured some research materials for Rs 1,000. But Mohanty had forged the voucher and shown the expenditure as Rs 81,000. We are also suspecting involvement of several other officials of the centre," said a wing official.

The matter came to light after the institute's internal audit had been carried out. It had forced the authorities to suspend Mohanty earlier this month. Later, its administrative officer filed a complaint against Mohannty with the wing.

ATM burnt

Unidentified persons set an automated teller machine and the branch of a nationalised bank on fire at Delanga Bazaar in Puri today.

Local residents saw smoke billowing out of the bank building and informed the fire service personnel early in the morning.

The goons first tried to lift the ATM. When they failed to do so, they set it afire. Though the criminals failed to steal any money from the bank and the ATM, several important documents of the bank were gutted.

"There was no security guard at the bank," said sub-divisional police officer of Pipili Jayanta Kumar Mohapatra.