Thiruvananthapuram: Sr accountant suspended for illegal withdrawal of Rs 2 crore from Collector’s account

The department said the fraud was committed using the ID and password of a employee who retired in May.

A senior accountant of the sub-treasury here has been suspended, pending enquiry, for allegedly illegally withdrawing around Rs two crore recently from the District Collector’s account. The Finance Department said M R Bijulal had illegally withdrawn the money from the Collector’s account and deposited it in his personal account and also of his wife.

He has been suspended, pending an enquiry, the department said in a statement. The department said the treasury lost at least Rs 61.23 lakh and that the balance amount was still in his account. It said the treasury bank accounts of Bijulal and his wife had been frozen. Police on Saturday had registered a case against the couple for forgery and cheating.

The incident came to light when the sub treasury officer found irregularities in the account in the name of the
Collector, who in turn alerted the treasury director. The department said the fraud was committed using the ID
and password of a employee who retired in May, prompting an enquiry on why it was still active after his years in service.

Meanwhile, District Collector Navjot Khosa said in a statement that there was’misuse’ of government funds and
sought urgent measures to plug loopholes in the system to prevent recurrence of such incidents.