Paralakhemundi: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday arrested three persons — a former Junior Engineer, a Municipal Engineer and a private contractor — for allegedly siphoning off government funds in the renovation of Pattnaik Tank at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district. The accused have been identified as former JE D Yudhistir, Municipal Engineer Sanjeev Champati and contractor Surendra Panigrahi. However, an independent technical assessment by Vigilance found that work worth ₹55,69,033 was either not executed or was of poor quality. Officials alleged that Yudhistir deliberately recorded false and exaggerated measurements in the official Measurement Books for non-existent or deficient work. Champati, who conducted the check measurements, allegedly certified these entries as correct, enabling the release of the inflated payments to Panigrahi.