From November 2018 - March 2020, the money generated from sale of tickets by Statue of Unity management was handed over to the cash collection agency.
The Gujarat Police on Wednesday registered a case against some employees of a cash collection agency for allegedly siphoning off Rs.5.24 crore generated from the sale of tickets of the Statue of Unity in Narmada district of the state.
The Statue of Unity, has been a major tourist attraction in Gujarat since it was inaugurated in October 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the period from November 2018 to March 2020, the money generated from the sale of tickets by the Statue of Unity management was handed over to the cash collection agency, hired by a private bank in Vadodara.
Some staffers of the agency allegedly did not deposit Rs.5,24,77,375 into the bank accounts of the Statue of Unity authorities, Deputy Superintendent of Police Vani Dudhat said, as per PTI.
The private bank's manager lodged an FIR at Kevadia police station on Monday night against unidentified persons working with the cash collection agency, she said. A case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy), she said, adding that no one has been arrested so far.
Meanwhile PTI quoted the management, 'The Statue of Unity management is not involved in this issue. It is between the bank and its cash collection agency. The bank has already deposited the amount into our accounts,' a senior official of the management said.
As per the FIR, the bank has been taking services of the agency since 2003 for cash collection and deposition. The bank had appointed the same agency to collect cash generated from the sale of tickets at the Statue of Unity and other connected tourist attractions and deposit it into the two bank accounts of the State of Unity authorities, the police official said.
'In a recent audit, the Statue of Unity officials found a mismatch in the amount mentioned in cash deposit slips, given by the agency staff after collecting the cash, and the actual cash deposited into the bank accounts between November 2018 and March 2020,' she said as per PTI. A detailed probe revealed that the agency staff allegedly did not deposit Rs. 5.24 crore, following which the bank authorities lodged the FIR, she said.
'We need to check several records of the agency to find out who were involved in the cash collection exercise at Kevadia,' the official said, adding that no one has been identified or arrested yet.
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 "Statue of Unity ticket sale fraud: Rs.5.24 crore siphoned off, FIR lodged")
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