What started as one accountant stealing ₹3.15 crore from Bokaro's police treasury has metastasized into a ₹36+ crore statewide scandal across Bokaro, Hazaribag, Ranchi, and Palamu — all using the same trick on the same portal. The Bokaro accountant had previously won a DGP Award for his "dedication and diligence in handling accounts." No treasury inspection had been conducted since 2018.
Jharkhand's treasury system is having a moment. The salary scam that began with accountant Kaushal Pandey withdrawing ₹4.29 crore from Bokaro's police treasury in the name of a cop who retired in 2016 has now ballooned to ₹36 crore across at least four districts. Hazaribag discovered ₹15 crore missing. Ranchi found ₹3 crore gone on April 14 — two employees at the Institute of Animal Health had been inflating salary bills on the Kuber portal for three years. Palamu reported its own fraud. The method was identical everywhere: reactivate retired personnel profiles, alter dates of birth, withdraw amounts far exceeding salary limits, repeat for years. The system that was supposed to catch this — treasury inspections — hadn't been conducted since 2018. The punchline: then-DGP Anurag Gupta, in a November 2025 certificate, praised Bokaro accountant Pandey's dedication and diligence in handling accounts, stating his work enhanced the reputation of the police force. State Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore has now ordered a comprehensive audit of all treasuries, which is a bit like checking whether the vault is locked after someone has driven a truck through it.