Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Established only in 2022 to probe complex cases related to cooperative and chit-fund financial frauds, the Forensic Audit Lab has been shut down.
The then Special Director General of Police, R.K. Mishra, established the lab when he headed the Cooperative and Chit-Fund Fraud Crime unit.
To start the programme, a dedicated office was established at the PHQ premises. Equipment such as computers, software to detect irregularities, scanners, printers, and many other gadgets was purchased. The officer in charge of the lab had demanded staff back then and was reportedly assured that senior-level auditors, chartered accountants, consultants, and other staff would be provided.
However, the officer retired, and all the plans were put on the back burner, so much so that the current staff at the unit does not know about the lab.
Sources said cases relating to the cooperative and chit-fund financial frauds unit are complex, and that entries in the account books appear correct to a layperson. It requires a smart auditor to expose fraud, they said.
Currently, 140 cases of chit fund and financial crimes are pending with the department, many ofwhich are 10 to 15 years old. Only recently, the unit started reworking 25 of the cases.
‘Focusing on districts’
AIG, Cooperative and Chit Fund Fraud Crime, PHQ, Devendra Singh Siroliya said, “In the past month, we have visited Indore, Jabalpur, Katni, Sehore, and Bhopal, and have worked on pending cases. Now, we are visiting Shahdol, Anuppur, and Umaria to solve pending cases there.”
