5 cops suspended for submitting fake bills

Five police officers have been suspended after an internal inquiry found that they had submitted bogus medical bills and claimed reimbursements that ran into lakhs.

They have been identified as assistant police inspector Kalpana Sawant, sub-inspector Abbas Shaikh, constable Gulam Hussain Shaikh, and constables Vidya Rajput and Nanda Kunjragne attached to local armed (LA) units. The report was submitted to Commissioner of Police Dattatray Padsalgikar early this month by Additional Commissioner (Local Arms) Aswathi Dorge. The commissioner issued suspension letters on August 9.

According to Ms. Dorge’s report, API Sawant had claimed Rs. 80,900 by submitting a bill from a non-existent medical store with a fake stamp. Her superior, Deputy Commissioner of Police L.K. Bhosle, told

The Hindu that he had sanctioned all of Sawant’s bills as she is his reader, but he had no knowledge of her forging the bills.

Abbas Shaikh claimed Rs. 1,69,800 towards his mother’s medical expenses from a fake chemist named Utility Medical, and bills worth Rs. 99,600 from Suyash Nursing Home, which does not exist. He also claimed Rs. 37,000 from a fake Aastha medical store in Nagpada towards his own illness. Rajput had claimed Rs. 99,932 by submitting bogus bills while Gulam Shaikh claimed Rs. 71,295 from fake medical stores. Kunjragne claimed Rs. 47,5687 by submitting fake bills.

The writer is a freelance journalist