Three police constables have been arrested after an alleged police salary scam worth nearly ₹2 crore was uncovered in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district. Investigators claim the fraud remained undetected for almost three years and came to light only after the police department, for the first time, used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse a large volume of salary records.
According to the preliminary investigation, digital salary records were allegedly manipulated between October 2023 and May 2026 to misappropriate government funds. Authorities allege that the three accused gradually increased their salaries over the period, illegally receiving between ₹1.5 crore and ₹2 crore.
The arrested accused have been identified as Girish Rai, Rajkumar Katlam and Hemant Mathew. Investigators said Girish Rai was working as an assistant in the salary section of the Superintendent of Police’s office and was responsible for preparing salary bills. He is accused of abusing his position by altering electronic salary records and allegedly increasing the salaries of himself and the two other constables.
Investigators believe the alleged manipulation was carried out in small monthly increments, allowing the irregularities to go unnoticed for a prolonged period. Officials said frequent transfers, fresh postings, retirements and routine fluctuations in police staff strength naturally caused changes in salary expenditure, helping the alleged fraud remain hidden within normal financial transactions.
The suspected scam was detected during a government audit in which AI tools were used to analyse the salary data of nearly 2,000 police personnel. While examining the massive dataset, the AI system reportedly identified unusual salary patterns and suspicious payments, prompting a detailed investigation that ultimately led to action against the three accused.
Officials associated with the investigation said identifying such subtle irregularities through conventional manual scrutiny would have been extremely difficult given the volume of data involved. They said AI-based analysis successfully isolated abnormal payment patterns and directed investigators towards suspicious transactions.
The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and alleged misappropriation of government funds. They were produced before a court and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. Investigators are also examining financial transactions, bank accounts and digital records to determine whether any other individuals were involved in the alleged fraud.
The case has renewed discussions on strengthening financial oversight and digital auditing within government departments. Experts believe regular AI-driven analysis of large financial databases can help detect concealed fraudulent payments, salary irregularities and other financial anomalies much earlier.
According to a researcher at Algoritha Security, AI-powered data analytics is not limited to cybersecurity but is also highly effective in identifying unusual patterns, suspicious transactions and record manipulation in large government financial databases. The researcher said regular digital audits supported by automated analytics could play a significant role in preventing similar financial irregularities in the future.
