Bhopal: ₹50 Lakh Fraud In PHQ Medical Bills, Final Probe Report On Monday | Representational Image
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the medical bills fraud has uncovered a scam of around Rs 50 lakh, officials said on Friday. Three police personnel have been suspended for allegedly withdrawing medical bills worth lakhs using duplicate documents.
A five-member committee has been formed to further investigate the case. The fraud occurred when payment was made two to three times for a single medical bill. The scam was orchestrated by an account officer and two clerks working at the Police Headquarters (PHQ).
Officials said that the fraud took place in the accounts branch of the PHQ. Treasury officers became suspicious of unusual transactions involving minor alterations in medical bills and alerted senior police officials.
The three PHQ employees responsible for processing medical bills came under scrutiny, and after monitoring their actions, it was confirmed that they had been withdrawing money by making small changes to the bills and transferring funds into their personal accounts.
Initially, the clerks withdrew small amounts of Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000, and Rs 20,000 to avoid detection. However, they later escalated their fraudulent activities, making purchases worth lakhs of rupees and using duplicate bills to funnel the amounts into their own accounts.
DIG Accounts PHQ, Santosh Singh Gaur, said that following preliminary investigation, account officer Neeraj Ahirwar, and clerks Harsh Bhankhede and Harihar Soni have been suspended. The probe panel is set to submit a detailed report on the case by Monday.
AIG Welfare Anshuman Agarwal is head of the five-member committee that includes finance officer Reena Yadav and three auditors. Gaur said that after the panel submits the final report, it will be decided what further action is to be taken in the case.
