New Delhi [India], June 18 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has accorded sanction to prosecute two Delhi Police officials in connection with an embezzlement case, according to a statement on Wednesday.
Saxena has granted approval under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr. PC), 1973, to initiate prosecution against Head Constable (Exe.) Rakesh Sharma and Constable (Exe.) Khushi Ram of the Delhi Police.
The policemen -- a head constable and a constable -- were booked by Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing in 2018 for committing embezzlement, forgery, among other offences under various provisions of the IPC and the Information Technology Act, the statement said.
Furthermore, the possibility of disciplinary action against the concerned police officials is also under consideration, pending the outcome of the prosecution.
According to the release, the case, registered on May 14, 2018, under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 201, and 120-B of the IPC, along with Section 66 of the IT Act-2000, stems from an internal inquiry within the Licensing Unit of the Delhi Police.
The inquiry revealed discrepancies in the deposit of fees related to the issuance and renewal of licenses of CPL, Hotels/Guest Houses, Eating Houses and Press, including arms licenses.
Investigations revealed that instead of issuing system-generated receipts, cash was collected through fraudulently generated fake receipts. These transactions were not accounted for in the government records, leading to the misappropriation of funds and a loss to the government exchequer. It was also found that some files were deleted from computers, and related documents were missing. The alleged embezzlement occurred between September 1, 2016, and February 20, 2018, the statement said.
The investigation further indicated that forged fee receipts were predominantly issued at Arms License Renewal Counter No. 2, manned by Head Constable Rakesh Sharma during the period of March 2017 to February 2018, despite the presence of other renewal counters. This pointed to a potential collusion between the Dealing Assistant and the Cashier, Ct. Khushi Ram.
Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports and the charge sheet filed by the EOW have concluded that there is sufficient evidence against Head Constable (HC) Rakesh Sharma and Constable Khushi Ram.
The Home Department, GNCTD, after reviewing the case, submitted that the investigation revealed a conspiracy between the Cashier, Ct. Khushi Ram, and the Dealing Assistant, HC Rakesh Sharma, to issue forged fee receipts for arms license renewals. They allegedly created a fake receipt format, bypassing the official cash application software, and printed receipts using the same printer as genuine receipts.
While according sanction under Section 197 Cr. PC, the LG has also directed the Home Department to re-examine the request of Delhi Police for the grant of sanction under Section 140 of the Delhi Police Act, 1978.