Mumbai: The Kandivli police have arrested a former employee of a gymkhana in the western suburbs for allegedly misappropriating Rs 24 lakh. According to police officials, the accused spent the entire amount, and no recovery has been made so far.
Background of the Case
The offence dates back to February last year. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered based on a complaint filed by a senior accounts and finance manager at the gymkhana. The gymkhana operates three restaurants and two bars. A contract was signed with an agency for recruiting staff for these establishments. Four cashiers were hired through this agency, while a fifth was directly employed by the company managing the gymkhana.
How the Fraud Was Committed
The company had implemented software to manage payments made by members and guests. Every bill had to be processed through the system by the cashiers, who were required to record details such as the mode of payment. Each cashier was assigned a unique ID to access the software. The complainant and his associate regularly inspected the records. However, due to excessive workload, they could not review the records for a period of six months.
When the complainant finally examined the records, discrepancies were observed for the period between May 2024 and December 2024. The software indicated a higher number of bill entries compared to the corresponding payments received via credit cards and online transactions. The complainant deduced that one of the cashiers had accepted cash payments from customers but falsely entered the mode of payment as credit card or online payment in the system. In this manner, the accused misappropriated Rs 24 lakh.
Investigation and Arrest
The IDs of two cashiers were found to have been used in the system. Both were questioned by the management. It was discovered that one of the cashiers, identified as Tejraj, had been using the ID of his colleague to make the false entries. Subsequently, a police complaint was lodged against him at the Kandivli police station, leading to his arrest.
