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Gas station manager arrested for siphoning of ₹15 lakh
The accused, identified as Santosh Mane, initially claimed that he had given the cash received in ₹10, 20 and 50 notes to hoteliers and grocery store owners as change for notes of higher denominations, but later it was learnt that he had taken the money
MUMBAI: A manager of a CNG pump in Ghatkopar East has been arrested for allegedly siphoning over ₹15 lakh in three months by keeping the money from exchanging small denomination notes with higher currency, on Tuesday by Pant Nagar police.
The incident came to light when the CNG pump owner, Santosh Dubey, checked the accounts for audit and found shortage in the amounts deposited in their bank account.
He found a shortage of ₹3.37 lakh in August, and ₹7.57 lakh in September, and ₹4.48 lakh in October totaling to over ₹ 15 lakh, said senior inspector Ravidutt Sawant.
The accused, identified as Santosh Mane, initially claimed that he had given the cash received in ₹10, 20 and 50 notes to hoteliers and grocery store owners as change for notes of higher denominations, but later it was learnt that he had taken the money.
Dubey runs a CNG pump in Kamraj Nagar area in Ghatkopar East in partnership. He had hired Mane, a resident of Govandi, to work as manager at the gas station in August 2022.
Mane used to handle cash receipts of the pump and the amount collected during the day was handed over to a cash van, the next morning. The cash vans, however, collected amounts only in higher denominations, except the notes of ₹10, 20 and 50 which they used to give to grocery stores, hotels in exchange with higher denomination notes, said a police officer.
Mane was confronted by Dubey, and he accepted that he had given small denomination notes to exchange with higher currency, but instead of depositing in the bank, he kept it to himself. He then offered to return the money that he had misappropriated from the collection and accordingly returned an amount of ₹3.39 lakh between the period of November 2022 and February 2023, but couldn’t pay anything more, said Sawant.
When Mane failed to pay him the rest of the amount and started avoiding his calls, Dubey approached the police on Monday and registered a case against the manager. “We have arrested the accused and will produce him in court on Wednesday,” said Sawant.
