How a woman police officer in Kerala siphoned off ₹16 lakh from fine amounts

Kerala Police have registered a case against a woman cop after she was allegedly found to have embezzled over ₹16 lakh from the fines collected for motor vehicle offences.

 

The accused, Shanti Krishnan, a senior civil police officer (SCPO) at Muzattupuzha station in Ernakulam district, has also been suspended from service.

 

According to reports, Shanti carried out the embezzlement by manipulating the financial records between 2018 and 2022 when she was working as an assistant station writer. 

 

The officer allegedly manipulated the entries made in the cash book and the fine receipts by changing the amounts collected, and snaffled the difference.

 

Shanti allegedly embezzled ₹ 16,76,650 in that manner.

 

"It is the duty of the writer to record the fines collected in the cash book and then deposit the amount in the police account in the bank," an officer told PTI news agency.

 

The discrepancies came to light during the routine internal audits, and further investigation revealed the fraud.

 

The FIR has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including forgery, using a forged document as genuine, criminal breach of trust by a public servant and cheating. 

 

The accused has also been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. She will also have to face a departmental probe.

India