ASI, GRD jawan accused of TRB wage fraud

Vadodara: An internal probe by Panchmahal police has uncovered a scam in the traffic department in Godhra, where a woman assistant sub-inspector and a Gram Rakshak Dal (GRD) jawan allegedly siphoned off Rs 6.49 lakh by showing relatives as Traffic Brigade volunteers.The scam in the Panchmahal traffic police came to light after it was found that several Traffic Brigade (TRB) jawans who were not assigned duties between June 2024 and Feb 2025 were nevertheless marked present. An investigation has been under way since July.Godhra A Division police station procured duty registers, bank statements and related records to verify the discrepancy. The probe revealed that after showing TRB personnel present on paper, wage bills were prepared and funds were credited to bank accounts. Further scrutiny showed that wages meant for 19 TRB jawans were transferred to only five bank accounts. These accounts belonged to relatives of traffic department assistant sub-inspector Samrath Nayi and GRD jawan Vijay Damor, who was working as a computer operator. Nayi was functioning as the account writer head in the traffic branch. The accounts were in the names of four of Nayi's relatives — her brother Ramesh Nayi, his wife Bindu, their son Devkumar and Nayi's husband Raman — and Damor's brother, Vinod Damor. A total of Rs 6.49 lakh was credited to these accounts, police said.When questioned, the account holders claimed the money had been deposited by mistake and said it was returned to Samrath Nayi and Vijay Damor. All the accused except Vinod Damor have been arrested and remanded to two days' police custody. Godhra A Division police registered an offence against the Nayi, Damor and the five account holders under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to criminal breach of trust by a person entrusted with property, forgery, falsification of accounts and allied offences.