Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) A government employee has been arrested for allegedly embezzling over Rs 51 lakh from the office of the Deputy Commissioner (East Division) of Kolkata Police through the use of fake bills over four years, a senior police officer said on Monday.

The accused, identified as Pulakendu Ghosh, an Upper Division Assistant posted in the DC (East Division) office, was arrested on Sunday following an investigation into the alleged financial irregularities.

According to Kolkata Police, Ghosh siphoned off Rs 51 lakh by generating 112 fake bills between 2022 and 2026. Investigators alleged that instead of routing payments to legitimate contractors and suppliers, he diverted the funds to bank accounts he and his mother held.

The official used counterfeit bills instead of the government account to transfer the large amount to his two accounts. After a preliminary investigation, Lalbazar (Kolkata Police headquarters) filed a complaint with Anandapur Police Station in East Kolkata. Based on that, the police arrested Pulakendu Ghosh.

Police said that a complaint was received in Lalbazar regarding the embezzlement after the government changed. Last month, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) ordered an investigation into the matter. On the instructions of the DC (East Division), a police team probed the matter from June 15 to June 30.

It was alleged that the accused Pulakendu Ghosh prepared 112 fake bills from 2022 to 2026. Out of these, he got more than Rs 40 lakh credited to his own bank account by furnishing 88 fake bills. Through the remaining 24 fake bills, more than Rs 10 lakh was sent to another bank account, which is in the name of Pulakendu’s mother.

Police said that Pulakendu was responsible for preparing bills for contractors and various suppliers. Taking advantage of that opportunity, he prepared the fake bills of Rs 51 lakh for four years and got them passed.

Police said that after the investigation began, several frauds also came to light in the database. It is known that the accused official deleted the database of the original contractors and suppliers from the HRMS system, where their bank account details were stored. As a result, their records are no longer in this system.

Police alleged that the accused replaced the database of original suppliers with his own account information and that of his mother. Fake documents and forged stamps were allegedly used to facilitate the fraud.

Police said several fake bills have been recovered during the investigation.

During questioning, representatives of four contracting companies informed investigators that payments due to them had never been received. Subsequent verification allegedly showed that the funds had instead been credited to the accounts linked to Ghosh and his mother.

According to police sources, colleagues rarely questioned Ghosh because of his senior position in the office. During interrogation, he reportedly admitted to the offence.

–IANS

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