With the arrest of ASI Vinod Kumar and constable Rajbir Singh, the number of accused arrested in the salary scam has now reached eight

The crime branch of Chandigarh Police has arrested two more police personnel in the ₹1.1-crore salary scam that had rocked the police department in 2019.

With the arrest of ASI Vinod Kumar and constable Rajbir Singh, the number of accused arrested in the scam has now reached eight.

According to investigators, ASI Kumar was then posted in the accounts branch and performing treasury duties. Constable Rajbir Singh was also posted in the accounts branch and was tasked with preparing bills for salary, pay arrears, LTC leave encashment, etc.

The duo was produced before a court on Friday and sent to four-day police custody.

Anonymous complaint exposed scam

It was an anonymous complaint that had blown the lid off the scam in 2020. The complaint had spurred the checking of salaries of police personnel for December 2019 and excess deposits were discovered in 35 accounts.

The crime branch had then constituted a special investigation team (SIT), and a special audit for 2015 to 2020 was conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the request of the police department. The audit had pointed out excess payments amounting to ₹1.1 crore.

Following the revelation, a case was registered under Sections 201, 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477-A and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13(1)(b) & 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Sector-3 police station on February 25, 2020.

Investigations had revealed that the accused used to deposit money in the salary accounts of police personnel with fake entries of inflated conveyance allowances and ration/food allowances, among others. The accused would deposit the money under the understanding that the account holder will keep a part of it, while the rest was distributed among the accused.