Maharashtra Legislators’ Funds Diverted Using Forged Letterheads; AI Voice Spoofing Suspected

The rising number of instances wherein multi-crore development funds, allocated to the public representatives, being diverted using fake letterheads and forged signatures has become a cause of concern for the state legislature. The government is working on a mechanism to plug the loopholes.

Every year, each member of the state assembly and the council receives Rs 5 crore as the local area development fund, which is reserved with them. On Wednesday, BJP member Prasad Lad raised the issue in the council as a point of information. He said that Rs3.2 crore was diverted to Beed using a fake letterhead and forged signature. Lad further said that the matter came to light when he received a call from the District Planning Officer (DPO) of Ratnagiri, asking whether he approved the release of funds.

He further claimed that an impersonator rang the DPO’s office and instructed to release the funds. “The scammer might have used artificial intelligence to my voice,” Lad suspected.

The proposal on the fake letterhead had a list of 36 projects, based on which the fund re-allocation was processed. However, the DPO became suspicious and contacted Lad to check the authenticity.

The BJP leader has demanded a probe into the serious matter, leading to the arrest of the fraudsters. He urged the government to strengthen its verification systems and security mechanisms to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

State council chairman Ram Shinde directed the government to take note of the issue. Talking to The FPJ, he said similar incidents had happened with other legislators also and that there was a possibility of an organised syndicate behind this. “I, along with other MLCs, came across similar incidents in the past. I have registered a complaint at the Cuffe Parade police station and the probe is on,” Shinde said.