Key accused in Treasury 'embezzlement' held

A suspended senior accountant, suspected to be the prime accused in the "embezzlement" of funds from a sub-treasury here, has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.

M R Bijulal was arrested from his advocate's office behind the district court here, they said.

"We have arrested the accused," an investigating officer told PTI.

Meanwhile, a local channel aired an interview of Bijulal before the police came to arrest him, in which he was seen saying someone else has used his account to transfer money.

"I have not committed any fraud. Someone else has used my account to commit the crime.

I have not used anyone's ID or password to transfer the treasury fund," Bijulal was seen telling the channel.

He also claimed that the money in his account was earned by him through an online rummy game which he plays regularly.

Soon after the interview was aired, police reached his advocate's office and whisked him away.

The Kerala government on August 3 transferred all but one official of a sub-treasury here in the wake of 'embezzlement' of funds from the District Collector's account as it dubbed the incident as a "serious cybercrime."

The government had suspended Bijulal, a senior accountant of the Vanchiyoor sub-treasury for allegedly withdrawing around Rs two crore from the District Collector's official account illegally and depositing it into the accounts of himself and his wife, also a government employee, in the treasury.

The department said the treasury lost at least Rs 61.23 lakh and that the balance amount was still in Bijulal's account, which along with that of his wife, have been frozen.

Police had registered a case against the couple on charges of forgery and cheating.

The incident came to light when the sub-treasury officer found the irregularities in the account in the name of the Collector, who in turn alerted the treasury director.

The department said the fraud was committed using the ID and password of an employee who retired in May, prompting an inquiry on why it was still active. Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac has said a committee, including an official of the National Informatics Centre, has been formed to probe the matter.