A major case of corruption has come to light in a government department in the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh, where a peon named Ilham-ur-Rahman Shamsi has been accused of committing fraud worth crores of rupees. Shamsi, who has three wives, was arrested by the police in connection with the corruption.
As per reports, Shamsi fraudulently obtained over ₹5 crore from the government treasury using 53 bank accounts. Shamsi was posted in the office of the District School Inspector in Pilibhit. He is accused of fraudulently executing 98 transactions from the salary fund by creating fictitious beneficiaries. He also managed to get one of his three wives appointed as a teacher through fraudulent means. He transferred over ₹1 crore into a bank account belonging to one of his wives. Funds were also transferred to many other bank accounts.
The case came to light in February, after the manager of the concerned branch of Bank of Baroda informed the District Magistrate about huge financial transactions taking place within the DIOS office. The District Magistrate informed the DIOS about the transactions, after which the latter submitted a complaint against Shamsi and his wife. Based on the complaint, an FIR was filed against the two by the Pilibhit Kotwali Police. Following the filing of the FIR against him, Shamsi secured anticipatory bail from the court. However, he surrendered to the police after the period of anticipatory bail ended.
Shamsi joined the DIOS office in 2014. Before that, he was employed as a peon at the Janta Technical College in Bisalpur. It is reported the secured his transfer to the DIOS office through fraudulent means. His wife, Arshi Khatoon, was also taken into custody by the police. All the bank accounts involved in the fraudulent transactions have been frozen. Police are tracing the trail of transactions made using the money.
During interrogation, Shamsi accused two clerks, Piyush Kumar Pal and Shyam Babu, of being involved in the corruption. However, the clerks have denied the allegations against them.
