Jharkhand Police arrest prime accused in West Singhbhum treasury fraud case

During investigations, illegal withdrawal of over Rs 26 lakh from police department accounts through the Chaibasa treasury has been confirmed, leading to the arrest of four persons -- prime accused Devnarayan Murmu, a constable accountant, along with his relatives Arun Kumar Mardi and Sarkar Hembrom from Potka block in neighbouring East Singhbhum district, and his friend Gorachand Mardi from Mayurbhanj district in Odisha, the officer said.

Chaibasa (Jharkhand), Apr 29 (PTI): Jharkhand Police has arrested the prime accused in a fraudulent withdrawal case from West Singhbhum treasury, along with three others, and sent them to judicial custody, an officer said on Wednesday. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Sadar, Chaibasa) Bahaman Tutu told PTI that the accused were arrested on Tuesday and produced before a court after completion of legal formalities. ''During investigations, illegal withdrawal of over Rs 26 lakh from police department accounts through the Chaibasa treasury has been confirmed, leading to the arrest of four persons -- prime accused Devnarayan Murmu, a constable accountant, along with his relatives Arun Kumar Mardi and Sarkar Hembrom from Potka block in neighbouring East Singhbhum district, and his friend Gorachand Mardi from Mayurbhanj district in Odisha,'' the officer said. He said the investigation revealed that the accused manipulated departmental computer data for nearly nine years to divert government funds into their own accounts and those of associates. ''An FIR in the case was registered at Muffasil police station based on a statement by Chaibasa treasury officer Sumit Kumar Singh,'' the officer said. According to probe, Murmu had been working in the accounts branch of the Chaibasa SP office since 2016. During this period, he allegedly tampered with official records and misused the payment system. In cases involving compensation to dependents of deceased police personnel, he would alter bank account details and insert those of his acquaintances. He also allegedly diverted travel allowance funds of police personnel into private accounts. Police further said Murmu had added an additional bank account in departmental records apart from his salary account, where government funds were routed. Between 2017 and 2025, he allegedly siphoned off Rs 26,21,717. A large-scale salary fraud had surfaced earlier this month, with fraudulent withdrawals worth several crores detected in Hazaribag, Bokaro and Ranchi treasuries, leading to the arrest of several police personnel. In the wake of the scam, Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore had ordered a comprehensive audit of all district treasuries.