Former Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi Faces FIR Over Fund Allegations

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

FIR Registered Against Former Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 22 (ANI): The Shimla police have registered an FIR against former Shimla Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi over allegations of cheating, financial irregularities and misappropriation of government funds, following a complaint by a police constable who alleged that he was denied reimbursement of Rs 1.87 lakh spent on official arrangements.

Gandhi, who was serving as Deputy Inspector General of Police before being transferred to the Department of Personnel, has linked the FIR to questions he raised over the utilisation of funds under the Himachal Pradesh Police Road Safety Fund and his demand for an independent audit. He has rejected the allegations of financial misappropriation and said he would respond through legal means.

Details of the Complaint

An FIR was registered against Gandhi at Sadar Police Station in Shimla on October 22 under Sections 316(5), 314, 318, 336 and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), following a complaint by a police constable alleging that he was denied reimbursement of Rs 1,87,890 spent on official arrangements during 2024 and 2025. According to the complaint, the constable, posted at Police Lines, Kaithu, Shimla, was assigned official arrangements and allegedly asked to meet the expenses from his personal funds, with an assurance that the amount would be reimbursed. He claimed to have spent Rs 1,87,890 and submitted bills that were reportedly examined and approved for payment.

The complainant alleged that on February 6, 2026, Gandhi, who was then Shimla SP, obtained his signatures on payment-related vouchers by allegedly misleading him into believing that the formalities were required to process the reimbursement. The constable claimed that the approved amount was not subsequently credited to his account. The complaint further stated that when the constable approached the accounts branch in July to inquire about the payment, he was allegedly informed that the money had already been withdrawn from the relevant fund but had not reached his account.

A preliminary examination of financial records, as described in the complaint, reportedly indicated suspected irregular withdrawals of approximately Rs 2.35 lakh from a district police fund over a period of around two years. The complaint alleged that the approved reimbursement payable to the constable was later transferred to the relevant fund account instead of being paid to him, purportedly to make good a shortfall.

Audit Demand and Dispute

Gandhi has questioned whether the action against him is linked to his demand for an audit of the Road Safety Fund. However, the circumstances surrounding the FIR and his audit demand are separate matters, and no official finding has established that the case was registered in retaliation for his representations.

In a separate development preceding the FIR, Gandhi had sought an independent audit by the Accountant General of Himachal Pradesh of approximately Rs 30 crore sanctioned under the Himachal Pradesh Road Safety Fund. He had raised concerns over financial documentation and compliance with the Himachal Pradesh Road Safety Fund and Activities Rules, 2022. Gandhi, while serving as DIG (Traffic, Tourist and Railways), sought an external audit of the fund's utilisation for the period 2021–26, invoking Rule 6(4) of the rules. His representations flagged alleged gaps in cash books, supporting documents for completed works, physical verification reports and compliance with expenditure-sanction and procurement procedures. He maintained that an internal departmental audit could not substitute for the external audit mechanism contemplated under the rules.

Police Headquarters, however, did not accept the demand for an Accountant General audit at that stage. In a communication dated August 3, Acting Director General of Police Ashok Tiwari reportedly described the demand as“premature and misconceived” and referred to an internal financial audit ordered on July 31 under the supervision of a Joint Controller of the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. Gandhi was directed to cooperate with the departmental audit.

The sequence has brought renewed attention to the demand for independent scrutiny of public funds and the circumstances surrounding the action against Gandhi. However, there is no established finding that the FIR was a consequence of his audit demand, and the two matters will need to be assessed on their respective records. Gandhi has rejected the allegations in the FIR and said he would contest them through legal means. He says that this is the result of questioning corrupt practices in the Himachal Pradesh Police and claims that false cases were being registered against him. The investigation is underway. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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