Woman accountant allegedly siphons off Rs 5.40 lakh from school account

DEHRADUN: A 20-year-old woman accountant from Kerala employed at a school in Chinyalisaur in Uttarkashi district is being questioned by police after she allegedly withdrew Rs 5.40 lakh from the bank account of her school fraudulently.
According to Dadan Pal, superintendent of police (SP) Uttarkashi, the accountant at Mary Mata School in Shaktipuram colony said she withdrew money from bank accounts of her school after she got a phone call in September, claiming that she had won Rs 4 crore in a lottery and had to deposit money in different bank accounts to claim her prize.
“The accountant, Toniya, received an email and then a call that she had won a lottery of Rs 4 crore. To claim that amount, she was told to deposit a few lakh rupees. Initially, she deposited Rs 70,000 and later withdrew money from school’s account and sent it to online fraudsters.”
After the matter came to light, director of the school, Tommy Thomas, filed a complaint at Dharasu police station under Section 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Pal said that the woman is supporting the investigation.
Police have also launched an investigation against the online conmen who cheated the accountant. “If needed, help of cyber crime police station in Dehradun will be taken to nab the culprits. We have the mobile numbers through which they contacted Toniya,” said Pal.