Treasury scam: BJP demands J'khand govt pay withheld salaries of 'over 70,000' police personnel

The opposition BJP of Jharkhand on Tuesday demanded prompt payment of salaries to police personnel, which were withheld after alleged irregularities surfaced in treasury funds at several districts. The police association claimed that the salaries of over 70,000 personnel have been withheld since March after investigations began into the irregularities. Earlier this month, fraudulent withdrawals worth several crores of rupees were discovered across Hazaribag, Bokaro and Ranchi treasuries, and several police personnel were arrested. The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Jharkhand Assembly, Babulal Marandi, claimed that the treasury scam was carried out by some dishonest individuals, while honest police personnel are bearing the consequences. In a post on X, Marandi said, ''Chief Minister Hemant Soren, respond: If police personnel do not receive their salaries, how will they support their families? By extorting money from two-wheeler drivers on the roads? By trapping people in fake cases and lawsuits? Or by colluding with criminals?'' The former chief minister said that ultimately, the common people will have to bear the brunt of the problem. ''Therefore, ensure the prompt payment of salaries to police personnel,'' he said. Jharkhand Police Association president Rahul Kumar Murmu told PTI: ''The salaries of about 70,000 to 80,000 police personnel have been withheld since March, after investigations began into unauthorised withdrawals from the salary funds.'' Murmu said the association has requested Chief Minister Hemant Soren to take cognisance of the issue of withholding salaries of police personnel, and urged him to conduct a high-level enquiry into the alleged irregularities. He claimed that arresting one or two lower-level police personnel cannot uncover the alleged irregularities. ''The scam clearly suggests that unauthorised fund withdrawals, achieved by manipulating data, were not possible without the involvement of higher-level officials. A syndicate is working behind all these things,'' he stated. The association has demanded disbursement of salaries for the police personnel at the earliest and strict actions against those actually responsible for the irregularities, he said. ''The headquarters has instructed the drawing and disbursing officers (DDOs) to conduct enquiries at their individual level. The data that were manipulated to commit irregularities are being verified at the levels of DDOs. After they complete their inquiries, they will be able to disburse salaries,'' Manoj Kaushik, Additional Director General of (CID), told PTI. He further said that CID is also conducting a detailed investigation into the alleged excessive and illegal withdrawals of salary funds. The revelation of the scam in the treasuries first came to light in Bokaro district in the first week of April, where an accountant with the police department was arrested for allegedly withdrawing more than Rs 6 crore. Thereafter, five people were arrested on the charge of embezzling Rs 28 crore from the Hazaribag SP office. On April 26, an FIR was registered against a police constable for his alleged involvement in the ''embezzlement of Rs 27 lakh'' from the West Singhbhum district treasury. State Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore had ordered a comprehensive audit of all district treasuries in the wake of reports of fraudulent withdrawals.

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