The Chhota Udepur district police have booked an Assistant Accountant of the Water and Sanitation management Organisation (WASMO) of Chhota Udepur district for allegedly defrauding the department of Rs 1.41 crores through 56 transactions into his personal account between November 2024 and October this year.
WASMO Assistant Accountant Timir Hasmukh Patel has been booked for forgery, using forged documents and criminal breach of trust after it came into light that Patel had siphoned off money from the Water and Sanitation department grants meant for various programmes in the rural areas.
An FIR lodged at Chhota Udepur police station, based on the complaint of WASMO Unit manager states the fraud came to light during Diwali last month when the cheques meant for paying staff salary were not deposited into the bank account of the department.
The FIR states that when Patel, who was entrusted with the task of depositing the cheques for payment of staff salary, was asked about the delay, he had stated that the bank concerned had not updated the amount due to a “delay” in the process.
However, in an inquiry conducted post-Diwali, the department learnt that the designated account was found to have insufficient funds as the cheques were not deposited into the account. A detailed inquiry revealed that Patel had siphoned off the money into his personal accounts, entries of which have been found in the bank statements of the department accounts.
According to the FIR lodged by the district police, the financial transactions made by Patel involved misappropriation of funds that were cleared with the help of joint signatures of the Unit Manager and District Coordinator. The police are probing if the signatures were forged by Patel. A total of Rs 1.41 crores was deposited in his personal account through 56 transactions between November 8, 2024 and October 16, 2025.
Senior police officials said Patel has been asked to appear for probe on November 24.
