Garhwal Post Bureau
New Tehri, 3 Jul: Tehri Police have arrested Abhilash Sharma, former cashier of Uttarakhand Gramin Bank’s Kemand branch, in connection with the embezzlement of nearly Rs 54 lakh. He was produced in court after his arrest while further proceedings are still underway. The Police are reported to be probing the entire fund flow and examining whether others may also have been involved in the case.
According to police, on 30 June the branch manager of Kemand lodged an e‑FIR at Chham police station reporting the misappropriation of Rs 54 lakhs. The bank’s internal audit and inquiry committee found that Sharma had abused his position by forging signatures and withdrawal vouchers to siphon off funds from several accounts. Based on this report, Chham police registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched an investigation into the complaint.
In view of the seriousness of the allegations, Senior Superintendent, Police, Shweta Chaubey directed the formation of a special team under the supervision of the Additional Superintendent of Police Tehri and the Circle Officer, Chamba. The team scrutinised the bank records, the account statements, withdrawal vouchers, financial transactions and both the documentary and the electronic evidence. Investigations revealed that part of the embezzled amount had been transferred into Sharma’s own account and those of his relatives.
Armed with sufficient evidence, police raided his residence in Dehradun and arrested him yesterday. Sharma, son of Vijay Sharma and resident of Shakti Colony, Premnagar Road, Badowala, was taken into custody from his home. SSP Chaubey confirmed that Sharma, while serving as cashier, had forged signatures of account holders and created fake withdrawal vouchers, transferring nearly Rs 54 lakhs into his own and relatives’ accounts. She said Sharma has been found to be the prime accused and has been arrested, produced in court and is being interrogated further to determine whether others were involved.
