India News | Ker Govt Terms Treasury 'embezzlement' Serious Cyber Crime; Sets Up Panel for Probe
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Kerala government has transferred all but one official of a sub-treasury here in the wake of 'embezzlement' of funds from the District Collector's account as it on Monday dubbed the incident as a "serious cyber crime".
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 3 (PTI) The Kerala government has transferred all but one official of a sub-treasury here in the wake of 'embezzlement' of funds from the District Collector's account as it on Monday dubbed the incident as a "serious cyber crime".
A day after the government suspended a senior accountant of the Vanchiyoor sub-treasury for allegedly committing the fraud, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac also said a committee, including an official of theNational Informatics Centre (NIC), has been formed to probe it with a direction to submit its report within five days.
In a Facebook post, he said the software used at the treasury will be subjected to a security audit and the accountant would be dismissed soon.
The government had on Sunday suspended M R Bijulal for allegedly withdrawing around Rs two crore from the District Collector's official account illegally and depositing it into the accounts of himself and his wife, also a government employee, in the treasury.
"It's clear that Bijulal hadcommitted a serious cyber crime. The department has decided for summary dismissal. The dismissal order will be issued within a few days after completing the procedures," Isaac said after a meeting with higher officials of the Finance department and the NIC.
Based on the report to be filed by the committee, which also comprise three officials from the Finance department, responsibility will be fixed on higher officials in case there were any lapses.
"Other than the state treasury officer Babu Prasad, who found the fraud, all other officials of the Vanchiyoor sub- treasury have been temporarily transferred and they will have to provide explanation sought by the probe team," Isaac said.
He said besides the security audit of the software, the department will also probewhether any such incident had occurred earlier.
Meanwhile, local TV channels on Monday aired a voice clip purportedly of Bijulal's wife, the second accused, saying she had no role in the matter and she came to know about it after a case was registered.
The department said the treasury lost at least Rs 61.23 lakh and that the balance amount was still in Bijulal's account, which along with that of his wife, have been frozen.
Police on Saturday had registered a case against the couple on charges of forgery and cheating.
The incident came to light when the sub-treasury officer found the 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 an employee who retired in May, prompting an enquiry on why it was still active.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)