Health office clerk siphoned off ₹16.5L by forging vouchers: FIR

Rajkot: An audit of taluka health office accounts has led to a criminal case being filed for misappropriation of Rs 16.59 lakh, with police booking an outsourced junior clerk after an inquiry found fake vouchers were used to divert govt funds in 2020-21 and 2021-22.An FIR was registered against Paresh Chauhan and others who may be incriminated at Pradyumna Nagar police station by Dr Jayesh Popat, 52, the taluka health officer and in-charge administrative-cum-accounting officer at the Rajkot Taluka Health Office.According to the complaint, an audit of local funds for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 financial years revealed that a substantial sum had been improperly transferred to the bank account of Chauhan, who was employed on an outsourced basis.After the audit, the Rajkot taluka development officer formed an inquiry committee on July 10, 2025. The committee submitted its report on May 11, 2026.The preliminary inquiry found that Chauhan, while working as a junior clerk in the taluka health officer’s office, allegedly misused his position to create fake vouchers in the names of serving and retired employees.Police said the forged vouchers were used to transfer about Rs 16.59 lakh into Chauhan’s personal bank account, misappropriating govt funds.Further investigation is underway to establish if others were involved and to trace the money.