Indore: A court on Friday sent a clerk at the Indore district collector's office in police custody till March 28 for allegedly misappropriating Rs 5.68 crore of government funds in the last three years. Before he was produced in the court following his arrest, 42-year-old Milap Chauhan, who owns a farm, told reporters here he had spent the embezzled money in hotels and clubs in Mumbai and Goa. Chauhan, posted in the accounts section of the collectorate, was suspended four days ago after the alleged irregularities came to light.
"I have blown enough money on parties and tours. I had spent money in hotels in Mumbai. I and four to five friends used to shower money on dance girls and spend on drinks in clubs all night," he said. Chauhan said he and his friends had been to Goa on two occasions, adding he wanted to sell the farm he owned to pay back the embezzled amount to the government.
He claimed he had pocketed Rs 2 crore between 2020 and 2022, while the rest of the money was with the other accused. A total of 29 persons, including two other clerks working at the same office as Chauhan, have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), said Raoji Bazar police station in-charge Pritam Singh Thakur.
Efforts were on to nab the other accused in the case, Thakur added. Additional District Magistrate Rajesh Rathore said Chauhan, since 2020, transferred the funds meant for the beneficiaries of different welfare schemes to some 25 bank accounts, including those belonging to his wife, relatives and acquaintances. These account-holders have been named as co-accused. (PTI)
