2 wives of main accused among 7 women held in Rs 8 cr treasury scam

Pilibhit: Seven women were arrested for allegedly receiving money siphoned off in a govt treasury scam that has now crossed Rs 8 crore, police said on Saturday. Among those held are two wives of the main accused.The women are linked to Ilham Shamsi, a peon at a govt inter college in Bisalpur tehsil, who was earlier posted at the office of the district inspector of schools (DIOS) in Pilibhit. He handled clerical work related to salary processing and bill clearance for nearly seven years. Police said the accused were picked up from different districts and were beneficiaries of the diverted funds.The case was first registered on Feb 13 on a complaint by DIOS Rajiv Kumar, alleging misappropriation of over Rs 1 crore. Subsequent investigation revealed that the scam amount exceeded Rs 8 crore.Shamsi is currently on anticipatory bail granted by the Allahabad high court till May 22, while his first wife, Arshi Khatoon, secured bail from a local court in March.Police said the fraud came to light in early February after Bank of Baroda flagged suspicious transactions, including a transfer of Rs 24.2 lakh to Arshi’s account on Dec 3 last year. An internal audit later found over Rs 1 crore had been transferred through 98 transactions since Sept 12, 2024.Police have frozen over Rs 5.5 crore across 53 bank accounts. Investigators said Shamsi routed Rs 2.3 crore to his second wife, Lubna Nabi; Rs 2.1 crore to his third wife, Azara Khan; and Rs 1.03 crore to his sister-in-law, Fatima Nabi.“Other relatives received around Rs 3 crore, while Rs 1 crore was transferred to two Bareilly-based builders, who have been served notices to hold the funds pending further action,” said ASP Vikram Dahiya, adding that the probe is ongoing and more layers of the scam are being examined.