Latur: Police make third arrest in embezzlement of Rs 23 crore from govt accounts

Police in Maharashtra’s Latur district have arrested an accused in the alleged embezzlement of about Rs 23 crore from government accounts, taking the total arrests in the case to three, an official said.

A team of policemen dressed up like doctors and arrested him last week from a hospital in Aurangabad where he had come to meet a relative, he said. A case was registered in January on a complaint by Latur Tehsildar Mahesh Parandekar after it emerged that Rs 22.87 crore had been illegally transferred out of government accounts with the help of forged signatures between 2015 and 2022.

The first information report (FIR) registered at Latur’s MIDC police station named Manoj Phulboyane, a clerk in collector’s office, his brother Arun, Sudhir Devkate, and Chandrakant Gogde. While Manoj, the key accused, and Chandrakant were take into custody in January itself, Arun was arrested on May 25. Sudhir is still absconding, he said.

Investigation officer Dilip Dolare said, Manoj transferred Rs 22.87 crore to various accounts, including the ones belonging to his brother’s firms, by forging the signatures of the tehsildar and tampering with the figures on cheques. He also withdrew Rs 4.5 crore in cash.” The official said police got inputs that Arun would be visiting a relative at a hospital in Aurangabad. A team of policemen dressed up like doctors and remained stationed there. Once Arun was in the hospital, an officer called out his name. When he responded, he was caught by the apron-clad cops,” he said.