A financial irregularity involving non-deposit of about ₹32 lakh collected from electricity consumers in Saharanpur’s Nakur area has led to the suspension of six power department employees, including an executive engineer, and the registration of a criminal case against a technician grade-2 (TG-2) identified as the primary accused.
Departmental sources said the amount was collected as part of routine electricity bill recovery and was required to be deposited in the official treasury within the prescribed timeframe. However, reconciliation of the collection registers with the cash deposit records revealed a shortfall of ₹32 lakh, triggering a high-level inquiry.
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Probe Findings and Staff Action
The probe confirmed that the recovered revenue had not been credited to departmental accounts and discrepancies were found in the financial records. Verification of cash books, bank entries and supporting documents pointed to procedural lapses at multiple levels and suggested possible collusion among staff responsible for handling and accounting of collections.
Following the findings, authorities placed the executive engineer, an assistant accountant, an accountant and two clerks under suspension with immediate effect. A criminal case has been registered against the TG-2, who has been identified as the key functionary directly handling the cash collections.
Investigation Focus and Oversight Gaps
Officials said the criminal investigation will determine whether the funds were misappropriated individually or diverted through a coordinated mechanism. All financial documents related to the relevant period have been seized and bank reconciliations are being re-examined to establish the exact trail of the missing amount.
The preliminary report also flagged serious deficiencies in oversight mechanisms. Mandatory verification of daily cash deposits, supervisory checks and periodic internal audits were either delayed or not carried out, allowing the irregularity to remain undetected for an extended period.
Reforms and Ongoing Audit
A special audit of the Nakur revenue collection system has been ordered to ensure that no additional consumer payments remain unaccounted for. Authorities are also examining whether the cash-based collection process was misused and if delays in deposits had become a recurring practice.
The department has begun reviewing its cash handling protocols and is considering the introduction of stricter digital tracking, daily reconciliation of collections and automated alerts for delayed deposits to prevent similar incidents.
Officials said departmental proceedings will run parallel to the criminal probe, and further action will be taken if additional staff are found involved. Field units across the corporation have been instructed to strictly follow revenue collection and deposit procedures and submit compliance reports to headquarters.
The case has raised concerns over financial control systems in field-level billing operations, where large volumes of cash are handled. Authorities emphasised that every rupee collected from consumers must be accounted for transparently and deposited within the stipulated period.
The corporation maintained that strengthening audit controls, enforcing accountability at each level of the collection chain and reducing dependence on manual cash handling would be key to preventing misuse of public revenue.
Investigators said the probe is ongoing and the financial trail is being mapped to determine whether the misappropriated amount can be recovered and to identify any systemic loopholes that enabled the diversion.
