Jamshedpur/Ranchi. Irregularities linked to government salary payments and the treasury system in Jharkhand continue to surface one after another. After Hazaribagh and Bokaro, a fresh case from West Singhbhum (Chaibasa) has now come to light, involving the alleged unauthorised withdrawal of approximately ₹45 lakh from police department salary accounts. The development has triggered concern within the administration and police establishment, once again raising questions over financial transparency and internal controls.
According to sources, the district administration initiated immediate action upon the matter being reported. Deputy Commissioner Manish Kumar has been assigned to oversee the preliminary investigation, while a special financial investigation team from the Ranchi headquarters has also reached Chaibasa. The team has begun a detailed examination of treasury records, banking data, and all salary-related transactions linked to the department.
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Police personnel are detained, and questioning is underway
During the investigation, a police constable from the Goilkera area was taken into custody. Preliminary inputs suggest that suspicious transactions were linked to the account or identity of the said personnel. However, investigators have yet to establish the exact timeline and mechanism through which the funds were withdrawn.
Additionally, two employees working in the police accounts section have also been questioned. The primary focus of the inquiry is to determine whether the incident resulted from a technical glitch, system misuse, or a pre-planned financial fraud involving multiple actors.
Detailed probe into digital trail and banking data
The special investigation team is now actively tracing the digital trail of the entire transaction chain. This includes scrutiny of suspected bank accounts, login credentials, transaction history, and the technical layers of the salary payment system.
With the assistance of digital forensic experts, investigators are also examining whether fake pay IDs, manual data entries, or unauthorized system access were used to generate fraudulent payment orders. Continuous cross-verification between banking records and treasury data is underway to reconstruct the complete flow of funds.
Possibility of a link with earlier cases
This incident does not appear to be isolated. Similar irregularities in salary and treasury systems have previously been reported from Hazaribagh, Bokaro, and Ranchi. In the Hazaribagh case, investigations had indicated the use of fake or temporary pay IDs to divert funds.
Based on this recurring pattern, the Chaibasa case is also being examined for possible links to a wider network. Investigators suspect that the incident may not be limited to a single district but could be part of a larger organized financial fraud mechanism.
Administrative tightening of monitoring systems
In response to repeated incidents, the state administration has further strengthened monitoring and audit procedures for the treasury system. Salary payments and treasury transactions across districts are being reviewed to identify and prevent any irregularities at an early stage.
Officials have indicated that if the Chaibasa case confirms involvement of an organized fraud network, the scope of the investigation could be expanded to additional districts.
