Ludhiana: Over ₹1 lakh missing from police malkhana; dismissed cop booked

Malkit Singh, who was the munshi at Division No. 3 police station, has been booked under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly misappropriating ₹1,66,160 that was recovered in connection with a gambling case registered in 2018

Nearly eight years after ₹1.66 lakh was deposited in the malkhana of Division No. 3 police station as case property, the cash has gone missing, triggering the registration of an FIR against a dismissed head constable who once held charge of the malkhana. The head constable, Malkit Singh, was dismissed from service years ago in connection with another cash-misappropriation case, officials said.

Station house officer (SHO) Gurjit Singh said a hunt was on to arrest the accused. (HT File)

Malkit Singh, who was the munshi at Division No. 3 police station, has been booked under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly misappropriating ₹1,66,160 that was recovered in connection with a gambling case registered in 2018. The case has raised questions over how case property could disappear from police custody and remain unaccounted for years despite being formally recorded in the malkhana register.

The cash was seized on January 3, 2018, when a police team led by the then police post in-charge Surinder Singh conducted a raid near Trikoni Park, Kashmir Nagar Chowk, following information about alleged illegal lottery and betting operations. Four persons, including Saurav Arora, Vijay Kumar alias Sonu, Narinder Kumar and Vijay Kumar Verma, were arrested and the cash was seized.

The money was deposited in the malkhana on the same day. According to the police report, then munshi Dilbag Singh, a head constable, handed over charge of the malkhana, including the cash, to Malkit Singh when he was transferred. Both officials signed the register, establishing that the cash had formally come into Malkit’s custody.

The gambling case ended with the accused being acquitted by a court on September 5, 2019. When the malkhana was subsequently scrutinised, the seized cash was nowhere to be found. The disappearance assumes significance because Malkit Singh had already come under the police radar in connection with another alleged misappropriation involving ₹22 lakh.

According to the FIR, the income tax department had deposited ₹51.08 lakh in the same malkhana on October 21, 2018. After an order was issued for the release of the money to its owner, Tejas Patel, in December 2019, Malkit allegedly released only ₹29.08 lakh and misappropriated the remaining ₹22 lakh. Following Patel’s complaint, an FIR was registered under Section 409 of the IPC against Malkit Singh on February 26, 2020. Malkit absconded after the case was registered and was subsequently dismissed from service.

According to the FIR registered on the complaint of inspector Gurjit Singh, station house officer at Division No. 3 police station, Malkit continued to possess the malkhana keys even after the case was registered. This reportedly created difficulties for police officials in depositing and retrieving case property.

A committee was eventually constituted in October 2020 under the supervision of the ACP (Central). Sub-inspector Ravinder Singh was the head munshi when the malkhana was opened, its contents verified and a computerised inventory prepared. It was during this exercise that ₹1,66,160 linked to the 2018 gambling case could not be traced. Ravinder Singh stated that the amount was not among the case property handed over to him.

The present head munshi, Manjit Singh, who took charge at Division No. 3 police station in July 2025, also told police officials that the cash was not included in the property handed over to him. Investigators then turned their attention to the officer who had originally received it. Malkit was contacted on August 25, 2026, and asked to join the inquiry and explain his position. Police said he assured them that he would appear by evening, but he did not join the investigation.

Station house officer (SHO) Gurjit Singh said a hunt was on to arrest the accused.