L-G sanctions prosecution of 2 cops in embezzlement case

Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena has accorded sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, to prosecute Head Constable Rakesh Sharma and Constable Khushi Ram of the Delhi Police in a case involving alleged embezzlement and forgery related to arms licence renewals.

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The case pertains to FIR No. 105/2018 registered at the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) police station, involving charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code — including 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467, 468, 471 (forgery and use of forged documents), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) — as well as Section 66 of the Information Technology Act.

The case, which was registered on May 14, 2018, is based on findings from an internal inquiry within the Licensing Unit of Delhi Police. The probe uncovered serious financial irregularities in the collection of fees for issuing and renewing various licences, including those for arms, eating houses, hotels, guest houses and the press.

Investigators found that instead of using the system-generated cash receipts, fake receipts were fraudulently created, and the collected cash was never deposited in government accounts. This led to significant misappropriation of public funds. Additionally, files were reportedly deleted from official computers and related documents went missing.

The scam allegedly occurred between September 2016 and February 2018, with the majority of fake receipts issued at arms licence renewal counter No. 2, which was manned by Sharma. Investigators suspect collusion between Sharma and cashier Khushi Ram in generating and issuing fake receipts by bypassing the official cash application software.