Two Punjab bookies held for Rs 1.6 crore embezzlement from Govt Department in Jammu

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Police Crime Branch has arrested two brothers from Punjab for alleged embezzlement of over Rs 1.6 crore from a Government Department here, officials said on Saturday.

The accused bookies — Jatin alias “Raja” and Jatinder alias “Poot” — who were evading arrest for the last four years were arrested from the Mukerian area of Punjab, a spokesperson of the Jammu Crime Branch said.

They were allegedly involved in an inter-state bookie business and siphoned the revenue collected by a cashier of the Jal Shakti Department, the spokesperson said.

A case was registered against the accused in 2020 following a complaint about embezzlement of Rs 1.64 crore out of the revenue collected as water charges in the city division, he added.

The police earlier arrested Nikhil Gandral, the then cashier at the Jal Shakti office here, and Inderpal Singh of Jammu and chargesheeted them in the case in March 2020.

According to officials, the revenue collected by the sub-divisional staff was deposited at the division headquarters with the accused cashier for its further remittance into the government treasury.

However, the cashier siphoned off Rs 1.64 crore and revealed that he had given the money to bookie Jatin, on the assurance that he would get double the amount in return, they said. (PTI)