Maharashtra: Case against school headmistress, clerk for alleged misappropriation of funds

Thane: A case has been registered against the headmistress of Thane Police School here and its woman clerk for allegedly misappropriating funds worth over Rs 20 lakh, an official said on Friday. The offence was registered against the school's headmistress Smita Rajalakshmi Nair and junior clerk Neelam Milind Kamble, Thane Nagar police station's official said.

The duo was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 467, 468, 471, 475 (all pertaining to forgery). The duo is accused of misappropriating funds to the tune of Rs 20,53,621, he said.

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The school is owned by Thane police commissionerate and is operated by a private trust, the complaint said, adding that the fraud had taken place between 2008 and 2021.

The accused misappropriated funds meant for preparing ID cards for students, for extra classes payment to teachers, registration fees of Class 12 students, fees for invigilators of the board exams, scholarship of students, among other things, the complaint said.

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An audit of the school accounts revealed that the duo had committed the fraud, after which the complaint was filed against them by the school trust, police said.