The district agriculture officer Govind Naik issued orders suspending AEO Divya for diverting Rs 36 lakh to benami accounts. Sources said that the officials would also lodge a complaint with the police seeking action in connection with the incident.
In an internal inquiry, it was revealed that Divya siphoned off funds and diverted them to benami accounts rather than to the 64 identified farmers. Divya reportedly offered commission to account holders for receiving the amount and handing it over to her.
An AEO takes care of identifying the farmers and their details for making them eligible for the Rythu Bandhu scheme in each cluster. Some more suspicious deposits were found but they are yet to be verified, officials said.
Divya handled the Baligera cluster where hundreds of farmers are eligible for getting funds under the scheme.