Rs 2.4 crore inflated salary scam unearthed in Latur police; 2 clerks & a cop arrested

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A massive salary disbursal scam involving alleged embezzlement of nearly Rs 2.4 crore has been uncovered in the Latur police, with four officials booked for manipulating payroll records and siphoning funds over nearly a decade."The probe has revealed that the accused allegedly transferred excess wages and allowances into the salary accounts of as many as 368 police personnel and administrative staff members over the past 10 years. Investigators suspect that the accused, in return, allegedly accepted bribes and commission cuts from several beneficiaries, including through transfers into their personal bank accounts," said Latur superintendent of police Amol Tambe.An FIR has been registered at the Udgir police station against senior clerks Rahul Wagdare and Brijkishor Thakur, junior clerk Dattatray Kshirsagar, and police sub-inspector Ajay Suryawanshi under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. While Thakur, Kshirsagar and Suryawanshi have been arrested and remanded in police custody till May 16, the whereabouts of Wagdare are unknown.The case stems from a departmental inquiry conducted by Udgir sub-divisional police officer Gajanan Bhatlawande into irregularities in salary disbursal at the Latur superintendent of police office.Preliminary findings indicate that between May 2015 and March 2025, the accused conspired to inflate salaries and divert excess payments by tampering with payroll records, forging documents and misusing allowances under various heads, including BDDS incentives, arrears, special pay and reference allowances.Investigators found that hundreds of employees received inflated monthly salaries through manipulated payslips, with excess funds routed in a systematic manner.Among the accused, Brijkishor Thakur allegedly siphoned off the highest amount — Rs 1.2 crore. Rahul Wagdare is accused of embezzling Rs 10.6 lakh, while Dattatray Kshirsagar allegedly diverted Rs 4.6 lakh. Police also suspect Wagdare and Kshirsagar jointly misappropriated an additional Rs 1 crore, taking the total embezzlement to Rs 2,38,92,007."The FIR states that the accused fraudulently inflated monthly salaries and systematically diverted excess amounts to the bank accounts of police personnel with whom they had an understanding," officials said.The police have appointed sub-divisional police officer Sameersingh Salve as the investigating officer, given the scale of the fraud. Investigators are now scrutinising bank transactions, salary records and departmental documents to determine the full extent of the scam and identify any additional officials involved.SP Tambe said strict and impartial action would be taken against all those found guilty.