Mumbai Police Payroll Scam: INR 6.41 Crore Disbursed to 10 Ghost Employees; Check Fictitious Names Here
Mumbai Police uncovered an INR 6.41 crore payroll fraud where ten ghost employees received salaries between 2019 and 2020. Five officials face charges under BNS, two have been suspended, and state-wide audits are underway. The unauthorised salary transactions occurred primarily across two specific windows: December 2019 to February 2020, and June to September 2020.
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The Mumbai Police Department has uncovered a major financial fraud involving INR 6.41 crore in unauthorised salary disbursements made to non-police personnel between 2019 and 2020. The irregularities came to light years later during the migration of employee data from the legacy Sevarth salary portal to a new software platform. According to an official complaint filed by an officer from the north regional division, ten fictitious individuals (ghost employees) were regularly listed on the payroll, receiving monthly government salaries directly into their bank accounts.
Phantom Payroll and Fictitious Names
The unauthorised salary transactions occurred primarily across two specific windows: December 2019 to February 2020, and June to September 2020, reports NDTV. Investigators discovered that ministerial-level clerks allegedly fabricated attendance registers and personnel records to introduce outsiders into the department's financial system. Atal Setu Bike Ride Viral Video: Mumbai Police Hunt for Wrong-Side Biker Who Flouted Two-Wheeler Ban.
The ten fictitious names listed in the First Information Report (FIR) include Ramdas Bhogle, Sudhakar Kadam, Sarju Yadav, Bhagwat Bhosale, Gunaji Khavkar, Mahadev Haldankar, Rajendra Sonar, Uttam Thorat, Suryakant Patil, and Pandurang Kadam. Authorities are currently working to verify the identities of these ten individuals and determine who controlled the bank accounts established in their names.
Action Taken and Suspended Officials in Payroll Scam
A formal case has been registered against five individuals who held administrative offices during the period of the incident. The accused include former administrative officers Ramkishan Goswami, Nagesh Talvadekar, and Vijaya Chavan, alongside Head Clerk Ajay Rathod and Senior Clerk Amol Meshram. The charges filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, include cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy.
Following internal reviews, the department has suspended Chavan and Meshram. Investigators allege the two created fraudulent Service IDs and Defined Contribution Pension Scheme (DCPS) IDs to facilitate salary processing. Under suspension terms, they are prohibited from taking up private employment, must file regular declarations to receive subsistence allowances, and cannot leave the Brihanmumbai jurisdiction without prior official authorisation. Mumbai Police Reject Misconduct Allegation After Viral Video of Officer Handling Woman Protester Sparks Row.
Broader Investigations Across Maharashtra
Following the discovery in Mumbai, similar payroll data manipulations involving smaller financial amounts have been reported in the Dhule and Latur districts. The interconnected findings have prompted senior state officials to initiate a comprehensive review of payroll system vulnerabilities across Maharashtra to prevent further misuse of public funds.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 04, 2026 04:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
