Data operator booked for embezzling ₹19.5 lakh from central govt PSU in Gurugram

The suspect was secretly carrying out the alleged embezzlement of the fund from the company’s bank account for nearly two-and-a-half years, said police

A junior data entry operator at the central government’s mini-ratna firm Wapcos Limited was booked for allegedly embezzling ₹19.56 lakh from the company’s account to other accounts operated by him by forging vouchers and documents and exploiting a loophole in the payment mechanism, police officers familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

According to police, the suspect transferred money to 10 to 15 bank accounts allegedly opened using forged documents (Representational Image)

According to investigators, the suspect was secretly carrying out the alleged embezzlement of the fund from the company’s bank account for nearly two-and-a-half years.

They said the embezzled funds included funds paid by the central government to Wapcos’s corporate finance wing, which has an office in Sector-18.

According to police, the suspect transferred money to 10 to 15 bank accounts allegedly opened using forged documents.

According to police, the suspect was in charge of preparing bank payment vouchers, so he was aware of the flaws in the transfer of funds from the company’s bank account to other accounts.

According to a senior police officer, citing Wapcos officials’ allegations, the suspect used to prepare payment vouchers with the correct names of the beneficiaries into whose accounts money was to be transferred.

“However, he soon realised that it was the bank account details, not the name, on which the payments were cleared. After learning this, he began mentioning the details of those accounts on the vouchers in which he wanted to get the money transferred for personal gain rather than the correct bank account and the concerned IFSC codes of beneficiaries,” he said.

Investigators said the embezzled amount includes ₹2.69 lakh disbursed by the central government for Wapcos’s Hydro division (finance), which was done by preparing 15 vouchers with bank account details of his and his close associates into which this money was transferred rather than the actual information that he should have mentioned.

According to Haresh Kumar, station house officer of the Sector 18 police station, the suspect was a contractual employee of the company. “We have asked company officials to provide all records so that we can take action against him after the investigation,” he added.

According to the police, a first information report was registered against the suspect on Monday evening at Sector 18 police station on the complaint of Sanjay Sharma, the general manager (HR) of Wapcos Limited, under section 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant) of the Indian Penal Code.

Sharma did not respond to requests seeking comment.