Navi Mumbai: A major financial scam involving the misappropriation of Rs 20.46 lakh has come to light in Uran, where the former Village Development Officer (VDO) of Kegaon, Chanje, and Bandhpada-Khopte group gram panchayats is accused of allegedly creating forged documents and unlawfully diverting gram panchayat funds, including water supply funds.
The alleged accused has been identified as Vaibhav Balkrishna Patil (38), and a case has been registered against him by Block Development Officer Sameer Watharkar with Uran Police on Wednesday.
The accused, Patil, served as the VDO for the three-group-gram panchayats from January 2019 to April 2023. “During his tenure, he allegedly committed several irregularities, prompting an investigation by the BDO of the Uran Panchayat Samiti''.
''The inquiry report, Patil created fake documents and diverted gram panchayat funds for unauthorized expenditures. We would be sending a notice to Patil to record his statement,” senior police inspector Jitendra Misal said.
Further investigations by BDO revealed that Patil failed to deposit collected funds, including gram and water supply funds, into the bank.
Instead, he allegedly spent the money without obtaining the necessary permissions from the administrator. This irregularity resulted in a total misappropriation of Rs 20.46 lakh.
Additionally, Patil was also allegedly involved in misconduct during the auction of iron pipes received from the ONGC. “He allegedly delayed depositing Rs 3.98 lakh owed to the Kegaon Gram Panchayat by 18 months and paid the amount in cash, further violating the rules,” Misal added.
“I had conducted an inquiry after I received a complaint and on the basis of my findings, wrote a complaint to the police,” Watharkar said.
