Mumbai: A major payroll scam involving the alleged creation of 10 fictitious employees in the Mumbai Police salary system has come to light, with a suspected financial irregularity of ₹6.41 crore. Salaries were allegedly generated in the names of employees who did not actually exist in the police force, and the money was credited to bank accounts linked to them.
The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested Ramkishan Goswami, former Administrative Officer of the North Regional Division, on August 11 in connection with the case. This is first arrest in this case. One of the accused resigned from his job in 2020–21. In his resignation letter, he reportedly stated that he no longer needed the job because the young woman he had married came from a financially well-off family. According to sources, the accused’s wife is originally from Punjab and is currently residing in Canada. So main accused out of the five accused may be changes to hide in Canada.There is speculation among ministerial staff in the police department that the accused resigned after getting an indication that the scam might be exposed.
Scam Detected After Six Years: The alleged fraud came to light during the migration of employee records from Mumbai Police’s old ‘Sevarth’ payroll system to new software. While verifying salary records, officials noticed discrepancies involving certain employees from the North Regional Division.
A subsequent inquiry allegedly revealed that 10 persons listed in the payroll system were not actually serving in the Mumbai Police. Despite this, salaries were regularly credited in their names.
Salaries Deposited in Two Phases: According to the preliminary investigation, the alleged fraud took place during two periods December 2019 to February 2020 and June to September 2020. Although the individuals were not employed by the police department, service records were allegedly created for them and salaries were processed in their names. The total amount allegedly diverted through the scheme is estimated at ₹6.41 crore.
Fake Service IDs and DCPS IDs Suspected: Investigators suspect that fake Service IDs and DCPS IDs were created to show the fictitious individuals as legitimate employees in the payroll system. The Crime Branch is investigating who created the fake records, what documents were used, who entered the salary details and who approved the salary bills.
Five Booked in the Case: Five people have been booked in connection with the alleged scam Ramkishan Goswami, Nagesh Talwadekar, Vijaya Chavan, Head Clerk Ajay Rathod and Senior Clerk Amol Meshram. Vijaya Chavan and Amol Meshram have allegedly been involved in creating fake Service IDs and DCPS IDs and have been suspended.
Following Goswami’s arrest, investigators are now examining the exact role played by each accused and whether other officials were involved.
Questions Over ₹6.41 Crore: One of the key questions before the Crime Branch is where the ₹6.41 crore allegedly credited in the names of the fictitious employees ultimately went. Investigators are examining who opened the bank accounts, who withdrew the money, whether the funds were transferred to other accounts and who ultimately benefited from the transactions.
Bank records and financial transactions are expected to help investigators identify additional suspects, if any.
Old Payroll Records to Be Audited: The Crime Branch is also examining whether the alleged fraud was limited to 2019-20 or whether a similar method was used in other years and departments.Officials are expected to scrutinise old Mumbai Police payroll records to determine whether salaries were similarly drawn in the names of non-existent employees elsewhere.This could potentially widen the scope of the investigation.
What Are ‘Ghost Employees’? :
‘Ghost employees’ refers to fictitious or non-existent individuals who are entered into an organisation’s payroll system as employees and whose salaries are subsequently processed and paid. The discovery of 10 such alleged employees in the Mumbai Police payroll system has raised serious questions about internal verification and financial controls.
The Crime Branch is now investigating who was behind these identities, how the alleged ₹6.41 crore was siphoned off and whether more people were involved in the suspected payroll fraud.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in
