The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) in connection with the fake withdrawal of government funds under the salary head from treasuries in Jharkhand.
The ECIR includes FIRs related to fraudulent withdrawals from the Ranchi, Hazaribagh and Bokaro treasuries.
The development is expected to increase legal troubles for officials allegedly involved in the scam, including some DSP-rank officers who are accused of returning money after making illegal withdrawals.
So far, 12 people have been arrested and sent to jail during the investigation being carried out by the police and the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The matter first came to light after Principal Accountant General (Accounts) Chandra Moli Singh informed the Finance Department about irregular withdrawals made by the police department during scrutiny of treasury records.
The initial communication mentioned fake withdrawals only from Bokaro and Hazaribagh treasuries.
Following the revelations, the state government ordered district-level inquiries into withdrawals made under the salary head. A high-level committee headed by Excise Secretary Amitabh Kaushal was also constituted to conduct a detailed investigation. The committee is currently examining documents related to the Bokaro treasury.
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Although the government initially ordered investigation into only two districts, the Principal Accountant General later sent another letter informing the government about suspected irregular withdrawals from 12 treasuries across the state.
The letter also raised suspicion of similar fraud in the health and education departments. Based on this, the finance department directed the concerned districts to conduct detailed inquiries.
An SIT has also been formed to investigate the FIRs registered in connection with the fake withdrawals. In Ranchi, Animal Husbandry Department accountant Munindra Kumar and his close associate Sanjeev Kumar have been arrested and sent to jail.
Investigators alleged that Munindra Kumar fraudulently withdrew salary amounts by showing inflated basic pay figures of up to Rs 20 lakh.
In Hazaribagh, Saurabh Singh, Rajnish Kumar Singh, Shambhu Kumar, Kajal Kumari, Khushboo Singh and Dhirendra Singh have been arrested in connection with the case.
In the Bokaro treasury case, Kaushal Pandey, Satish Kumar Singh and Kajal Mandal have also been arrested. Besides, Sabita Kumari has been arrested in Deoghar for alleged fake withdrawals made in the names of health workers.
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