Woman police officer held in alleged embezzlement case in Kochi

A woman civil police officer, who had gone underground after being charged with financial irregularities to the tune of ₹20.90 lakh, has been arrested and remanded.

The Muvattupuzha police apprehended Santhy Krishnan, who was serving as writer at the Muvattupuzha traffic enforcement unit, from her relative’s house at Kidangoor in Kottayam on Monday night. She was produced before the Vigilance court in Kottayam which remanded her to judicial custody, a police officer said.

The arrest comes after the Kerala High Court dismissed her anticipatory bail plea. She committed the alleged financial fraud between 2009 to 2021 when she had been entrusted with depositing the fine collected by the Muvattupuzha traffic police enforcement unit.

According to the first information report registered by the Muvattupuzha police, she tampered with government documents, including treasury receipts, and bank receipts to embezzle government funds. She allegedly deposited less than the actual fine collected for the day and covered up her tracks by tampering with the treasury receipts and bank receipts.

She was booked under IPC Sections 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a government servant), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property). She was also charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.