Coimbatore: A woman warden of a private ladies' hostel at Nehru Nagar East in the city was booked on Sunday for swindling 8 lakh.
Peelamedu police registered a case against the warden, identified as R Arthi, 24, of Karayanpatti in Trichy district, under Section 316 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act.
M Prabhavathi, 37, of Nehru Nagar on Kalapatti Road in the city, owns the ladies' hostel in the name of Yazhini.
Arthi has been working in the hostel as a warden since 5, 2023, when there were 70 inmates.
Only 16 new admissions were made from November 2023 to August 2024.
Prabhavathi questioned Arthi about the lack of new admissions at her hostel, but she did not get any valid response from Arthi. She also demanded that Arthi submit the account details.
Meanwhile, Arthi took leave and submitted the account details in August. Prabhavathi noticed a lot of manipulation in the accounts and made a surprise visit to the hostel. She discovered that around 105 women, mostly college students, stayed there. Details of the many students were not accounted for in the hostel documents by the warden.
The hostellers informed Prabhavathi that they were allowed to stay without proper admission by the warden. After a detailed verification of the accounts, Prabhavathi discovered that Arthi swindled Rs 8 lakh from the hostel.
Based on Prabhavathi's complaint, Peelamedu police inspector Kandasamy registered a case against Arthi. Further investigation is ongoing.