13 August,2026 08:56 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
The office of the additional commissioner of police, Northern Regional Division, in Kandivli East. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
The Crime Branch Unit XII has arrested a 61-year-old former administrative officer in connection with the alleged Rs 6.41-crore police payroll scam in which 10 fictitious employees were created in official records and salaries meant for them were diverted to other bank accounts.
Ramkishan Ganesh Goswami, Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) at North Region Division Additional Commissioner's Office during the fraud, was arrested from Kanjurmarg East on Tuesday. Investigators found service records containing details such as names, dates of birth, appointment dates, posts and places of work for the fictitious employees. A certified February 2020 salary bill also bears Goswami's signature as DDO.
Ramkishan Ganesh Goswami. PIC/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Crime Branch officers found that letters signed by Goswami were sent to banks concerning the deposit of salaries into police employees' accounts. They are also examining the digital trail behind the creation and approval of the 10 service IDs, including the login IDs used during the process.
The irregularities relate to salary payments made in December 2019, January 2020, February 2020, June 2020, July 2020, August 2020, and September 2020. The discrepancy was serious enough to prompt an internal inquiry ordered by the additional commissioner of police, Northern Regional Division, on July 9, with DCP Gajanan Rajmane appointed to conduct the probe.
"The Crime Branch has registered a separate case originating from Samta Nagar police station invoking provisions including criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, use of forged documents, destruction of evidence, and criminal conspiracy," said a Crime Branch officer.
The police are now investigating who created and approved the fictitious service IDs, how the salary payments were authorised, where the Rs 6.41 crore ultimately went, and whether any of the officials involved personally benefited from the alleged manipulation.
>> Came to light during migration of data
>> Inquiry found 10 service IDs did not correspond to genuine police employees
>> Salary bills generated; payments made to bogus employee accounts from Dec 2019 to Sept 2020
>> 163 non-police bank accounts accounts used
>> Bank statements, KYC details of accounts sough
>> Scam caused loss of Rs 6.41 crore to government
>> Ramdas Bhogle
>> Sudhakar Kadam
>> Sarju Yadav
>> Bhagwat Bhosale
>> Gunaji Khavkar
>> Mahadev Haldankar
>> Rajendra Sonar
>> Uttam Thorat
>> Suryakant Pat
>> Pandurang Kadam
The police have also named four other officials as accused, including Administrative Officer Nagesh Sadashiv Talwadekar, Head Clerk Vijaya Ashok Chavan, Senior Clerk Ajay Ambadas Rathod, and Junior Clerk Amol Arunrao Meshram.
