Mumbai: Two ex-employees of a Kandivali-based doctor’s clinic were on Friday arrested for embezzling 6 lakh over two years. Samata Nagar police identified the arrested accused as Salma Shaikh (35) and Felicia Anders (29) and booked them for cheating.
Police said Shaikh and Anders had been employed with a Kandivali physician, Dr Rinky Kapoor since 2016. Shaikh worked as a compounder and Anders a cashier, who were responsible for billing and bookkeeping. Last month, Shaikh resigned, leaving Dr Kapoor in a lurch. When the complainant doctor checked the accounts to file her IT returns last week, she was shocked to see `6 lakh missing.
Dr Kapoor consulted her chartered accountant, who informed her of the money being embezzled by someone from her clinic. Police said since Dr Kapoor’s accounts were maintained by Shaikh and Anders, she first asked Anders about the embezzlement, to which she rebutted the allegations and stopped coming to the clinic.
Suspecting Anders’ role in the embezzlement, Dr Kapoor approached Samata Nagar police and filed a case against her on Wednesday evening. Samata Nagar police summoned Anders for questioning on Thursday, where she confessed to having helped her former colleague, Shaikh, embezzle the money.
Raju Kasbe, the senior inspector of Samata Nagar police station, said, “Anders mentioned Shaikh being the mastermind behind the embezzlement. The main reason she resigned from the clinic was to prevent being caught. Based on Anders’ confession, Shaikh was called for quizzing and held on Thursday.”
The duo was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to cheating (section 420) and forgery (section 465). They were produced in a local court on Friday, which remanded them in police custody till Tuesday. Meanwhile, police are on the search for a third accomplice, who had resigned from her job as assistant doctor.