Navy fake bills scam: PCDA team arrives in Indore

Indore, May 22: A team from Principal Controllers of Defence Accounts (PCDA) office has arrived here in connection with the Navy's alleged fake bill payment scam of Rs 6.33 crore in which local police have arrested four persons, including a PCDA auditor.

"The four-member team led by Senior Accounts Officer of Navy's PCDA office arrived here yesterday along with documents which we have demanded from them for probe into the issue," Indore Police Crime Branch's Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vinayprakash Paul told reporters today.

He said the police, along with PCDA team, are probing these documents. Paul said police had arrested PCDA auditor Suresh Hatle, Navy's retired storekeeper Rajkumar Choudhry, city-based chartered accountant Ramratan Singhal and Bank of India's local branch manager Bhupesh Joshi in connection with the scam.

"So far, out of Rs 6.33 crore involved in the scam, Rs 4 crore have been seized," he added. Hatle had been arrested from Navy's Karwar base in Karnataka. Hatle and Choudhry, who had worked together in Mumbai with the Navy, were accused of conspiring and implementing the plan with their associates, he said.

The ASP said Hatle had sanctioned fake bills for payment of electronic goods and other items for Navy and transferred the amount in two different accounts in Indore-based banks.

While Rs 5.36 crore was transferred in one account, Rs 97 lakh in another account. The chartered accountant had allegedly opened these accounts by using his customer's identity and his private firm's papers in the name of Neel Enterprises and transferred the amount in them. The alleged scam took place between July 2014 and October 2014 and later these accounts were closed, the ASP added.

PTI