Mumbai resident arrested for duping Navy of ₹2.19 crore

The accused allegedly misappropriated Navy’s funds and forged signatures of many Navy officers, including commodores, commander and other senior ranking officials

A central government employee attached with Navy’s employee welfare office has been arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for duping the Navy of ₹2.19 crore in six years.

He used to look after the accounts of the welfare body and maintain details of all the cheques and transactions. (HT PHOTO)

The accused, Sushant Gangawane, 34, allegedly misappropriated Navy’s funds and forged signatures of many Navy officers, including commodores, commander and other senior ranking officials.

According to the police sources, Gangawane is a Kalachowky resident, and was employed with the office of the senior staff officers’ welfare, located in Colaba headquarters between 2007 and 2017, after which he was transferred. The welfare body gets funds from profits made from Navy’s wine shops, canteens, grocery stores, etc.

Gangawane’s role was to process distribution of the funds. He used to look after the accounts of the welfare body and maintain details of all the cheques and transactions.

“Gangawane took advantage of the responsibilities given to him and forged signatures of the Naval officers and misappropriated funds of the welfare body. He withdrew cash using 35 ‘self cheques’. In the last six years, Gangawane withdrew cash amounting to ₹2.19 crore around 116 times,” said an EOW source.

The welfare body uses the fund for the welfare of retired navy personnel, families of martyred officers, scholarships for the children of the officers, community centres, education, sports and adventures, health and family welfare, allocation to ships and establishments, and other miscellaneous expenses pertaining to Navy.

Misappropriation in school funds

Sources said that the entire scam surfaced in March this year after Navy administration found misappropriation of funds allocated to run a school for special students, ‘Sankalp.’

Navy officers realised ₹2.03 lakh was allocated to the school twice in June and August last year.

Senior officers smelt a rat as funds were allocated twice in a span of three months.

They ordered an internal audit-enquiry, in which it was revealed that the school received funds only once and not twice.

Later, when officials investigated it and obtained the banking details of the welfare’s bank account with the Naval Dockyard Co-operative Bank Limited, more massive misappropriation of funds surfaced.