AHMEDABAD: The head cashier of Vastral Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city was booked for allegedly siphoning off Rs 1.83 crore between January 2019 and February 2022, a police official said on Monday.
Of the Rs 1.83 crore, a sum of Rs 94.14 lakh has been returned by accused MN Prajapati, while he was yet to pay back the remaining Rs 89.02 crore, due to which he was suspended last month, said Inspector CR Rana of Ramol police station.
"A case under IPC section 309, which deals with criminal breach of trust by public servants, was registered against Prajapati on Sunday on the complaint of Assistant Regional Transport Officer KD Parmar. No arrest has been made as yet," Rana said.
As per the complaint, Prajapati was responsible for collection of taxes from vehicle owners in the jurisdiction of Vastral RTO, which caters to residents living in eastern part of Ahmedabad city.
"He was supposed to deposit the collected amount into the RTO's SBI account on a daily basis. He would deposit only a small amount. The irregularities committed by Prajapati came to light when the Transport Commissioner's office in Gandhinagar, which controls all the RTOs, noticed a drop in Vastral RTO's collection and got an audit conducted," Parmar has said in the complaint.
When confronted by higher authorities, Prajapati admitted to his crime and returned Rs 94.14 lakh in installments to the treasury between February and March.
However, when he stopped depositing money after March 11, authorities decided to place him under suspension and lodge a police complaint against him.
