CHENNAI: A former cashier of state government’s handlooms department has been booked by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), almost 15 years after he allegedly misappropriated government funds.
The case was registered by the DVAC last week against R Mani, who worked as the cashier in Tamil Nadu Zari Limited in Kanchipuram district from 1999-2000 to 2009-10.
He was dismissed from the government service in 2013.
Sources said Mani and his relative C Punniyakoti, who was a junior assistant in the same department at the time, are accused of misappropriating `68.48 lakh from the department. Punniyakoti, who later worked as cashier (in-charge), from 2010-2012, was suspended from the service in 2018.
DVAC said multiple legal actions were initiated against Mani; in 2014, a suit was filed in Kanchipuram district court and later a police complaint was also filed.
Mani allegedly fabricated bank statements of State Bank of India, including counter foils of remittance challans, by inflating the deposited to the department’s account.
DVAC’s FIR shows it was only in November 2024, 12 years after the alleged misappropriation, that handlooms department filed a complaint with the anti-corruption agency.
The case was registered on March 20. No particular reasons were given for the delay in filing the complaint.