Daijiworld Media Network – Hebri

Hebri, Aug 15: A case has been registered at Hebri police station against Manjunath, a bill collector of Shivapura grama panchayat in the taluk, for allegedly misappropriating money collected as house tax and using it for personal purposes.

Udupi zilla panchayat chief executive officer Prateek Bayal has ordered the suspension of Manjunath from service.

Shivapura grama panchayat development officer Ashok filed a complaint at Hebri police station on Thursday regarding the alleged misappropriation of funds, following which a case of cheating was registered.

According to the complaint, Manjunath had allegedly misappropriated around Rs 7.50 lac for personal use. After the matter came to light, Shivapura grama panchayat development officer Ashok conducted an inquiry and issued a notice to Manjunath. He subsequently repaid around Rs 3 lac to the panchayat but allegedly failed to repay the remaining amount and cheated the panchayat, the complaint stated.

It was alleged that Manjunath failed to deposit Rs 1.18 lac collected as house tax during 2023-24 and Rs 3.36 lac collected during 2024-25 into the panchayat’s bank account. He allegedly used the total amount of Rs 4.54 lac for personal purposes, thereby committing breach of trust, the complaint stated.