Over Rs 1 cr treasury dept funds found in account of staffer’s wife

Pilibhit: Transfer of govt funds exceeding Rs 1 crore from the district treasury to the bank account of an employee's wife has come to light in Pilibhit after a bank flagged the transactions as suspicious. The funds were routed under the salary head, prompting an inquiry amid suspicion that more officials could be involved.Following directions from the DM, chief development officer Rajendra Kumar Shrivas constituted a four-member inquiry panel on Feb 5. Shrivas said the panel, headed by him, includes the city magistrate, district treasury officer and the lead bank district manager. "The committee will probe all aspects of the matter and examine the role of every concerned department," he said, adding that no deadline has been fixed yet for completion of the inquiry.The matter surfaced after the branch manager of Bank of Baroda's main branch in Pilibhit alerted the DM upon detecting an NEFT transfer of about Rs 24 lakh to the savings account of Arshi Khatoon on Dec 3, 2025. During an internal audit, the bank found that govt funds totalling over Rs 1 crore had been transferred to her personal account between Sept 12, 2024 and Dec 3, 2025. Her husband, Ilham Shamsi, posted in the office of the district inspector of schools (DIOS) and attached to Janta Inter College, Bisalpur, where he handles accounts-related work, has come under scrutiny. Officials are examining why repeated high-value transfers under the salary head were not flagged, especially given that a juniors employee's salary typically does not exceed Rs 40,000–45,000 per month even at the peak of service, as per DIOS Rajiv Kumar.Bank records indicate that 98 transactions were made during the period under scrutiny. Except for eight, all transactions were above Rs 1 lakh, pointing to an average monthly credit of over Rs 7 lakh into Khatoon's account.Investigators are also examining fund utilisation patterns. Bank records show that over Rs 36 lakh was spent from Khatoon's account through UPI transactions, while more than Rs 66 lakh, including interest, remained. The account has since been frozen following administrative action.