Mulund society accountant booked for siphoning off ₹14 lakh

Mulund society accountant booked for diverting ₹14 lakh to personal account. Cheques signed by office bearers used. Case registered, arrest pending.

Mumbai: The Navghar police on Monday booked a Mulund residential society accountant for allegedly diverting society funds to deposit ₹14 lakh in his personal bank account. The accused, Gangadhar Chalke, a resident of Thane, allegedly visited the society office to help maintain the accounts and removed cheques signed by the office bearers.

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The complainant, Sadashiv Dabhade, was the chairman of Triratnadeep Society, Mulund East, from 2006 to 2022. The society had appointed one Sandesh Kadam as an accountant from 2019 to 2020. He used to visit the society office twice a week for work, and his monthly salary was ₹8,000/-. Another person, Gangadhar Chalke, a resident of Thane also visited the society office to help Kadam in his work and Kadam was given some amount from his salary.

Chalke, who was helping Kadam to maintain society accounts allegedly took out cheques signed by the society’s chairman, secretary and treasurer. He later deposited the four cheques of ₹1.5 lakh, 1.45 lakh, ₹7 lakh and ₹4.5 lakh, amounting to a total of ₹14.45 lakh, in his own bank accounts in a cooperative bank in Dombivl, illegally, said a police officer.

The incident came to light a few months ago and the society members initially suspected Kadam and he was confronted but denied his involvement in siphoning the amount. Chalke also came into suspicion, but he gave vague answers to the society members. During the general meeting, Chalke confessed that he had defrauded the society amount of ₹14.45 lakh and promised society members that he would return the amount, added the officer. He even gave the society a cheque for ₹2 lakh, added officials.

But soon after, Chalke started avoiding the complainant’s calls and messages regarding the remaining account. The society decided to take legal action against Chalke, and they approached the Navghar police station and registered a case against him under sections 408 and 420 of the IPC. “The case has been registered and we will send notice to the accused and will arrest him soon,” said senior inspector Madan Patil of the Mulund police station.