Goa Government Official Files Police Complaint Over Wrongful Deposit of Rs 1.92 Lakh
In a significant financial irregularity case, a senior official from the Goa government has lodged a formal police complaint after substantial government funds were erroneously transferred to a private individual's bank account in Madhya Pradesh. The incident has raised serious concerns about financial oversight and accountability within government transactions.
Details of the Wrongful Deposit
The complaint was filed by Shreyas D'silva, who serves as the under-secretary (GA-I) in the general administration department at the Goa secretariat. According to the official police report, the wrongful transfers occurred on two consecutive days last year.
On July 30, 2023, an amount of Rs 1.6 lakh was mistakenly credited to the savings bank account of Raju Bhuriya, an adult resident of Madhya Pradesh. The following day, on July 31, an additional Rs 32,895 was deposited into the same account through another erroneous transaction.
This brought the total amount wrongly transferred to Bhuriya's account to Rs 1,92,895. The Porvorim police station has officially registered a First Information Report (FIR) based on D'silva's detailed complaint, though no arrests have been made in connection with the case at this time.
Substantial Funds Withdrawn and Refusal to Repay
Investigations reveal that the accused individual, Raju Bhuriya, proceeded to withdraw a significant portion of the wrongly deposited government funds. Official records indicate that Rs 89,108 was withdrawn from the account after the erroneous deposits were made.
More concerning is the subsequent refusal by Bhuriya to return the funds when the error was identified. According to the police complaint, Bhuriya deliberately refused to repay the wrongly withdrawn government money, despite being made aware that the funds belonged to the Goa state government.
Legal Framework and Investigation Status
The police have registered the case under sections pertaining to criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of funds. These charges reflect the serious nature of the offense, particularly since the funds involved belong to the public treasury.
Police Sub-Inspector Sanket Talkar has been assigned to lead the investigation into this financial irregularity. The investigation will focus on several key aspects:
- How the erroneous transfers occurred despite government financial controls
- The complete transaction history of the withdrawn funds
- Whether there was any deliberate attempt to exploit the banking error
- The recovery process for the misappropriated government funds
The case highlights ongoing challenges in government financial management systems and the need for enhanced verification protocols for electronic fund transfers. As the investigation progresses, authorities are expected to examine both the procedural lapses that led to the wrongful deposit and the legal avenues available for recovering public funds.
