An assistant manager from the accounts department of a reputed educational institution in Mumbai’s western suburbs has been booked for embezzling ₹1.44 crore. The accused, identified as Tahir Khan, allegedly diverted refund amounts meant for students into a separate bank account instead of crediting them to the students’ accounts. The fraud came to light during a routine audit when suspicious entries were flagged in the financial records.
The institution in question operates several schools across India. At the time of admission, students are required to pay fees for three to six months in advance, along with charges for transport, canteen, and sports. If a student discontinues mid-session or withdraws from specific extracurricular activities like sports, a partial refund of the paid amount is issued.
As part of this refund process, a female staff member would compile a list of eligible students after verifying their bank details. This list would then be forwarded to assistant manager Tahir Khan, who was responsible for preparing the payment file and authorizing the transactions. However, between April 2024 and March 2025, Khan allegedly rerouted these funds into other accounts, bypassing the intended recipients.
During the annual audit conducted in March, officials scrutinized the refund records and discovered repeated transfers to a particular bank account held by a woman named Nilofar Shaikh. This raised suspicion in the mind of accounts department head Pawan Lohia (34), who found that a total of ₹44.86 lakh had been transferred to Shaikh’s account alone.
A deeper investigation revealed that Khan had diverted a cumulative amount of ₹1.44 crore across various bank accounts. Acting on Lohia’s complaint, the Bangur Nagar police registered an FIR against Tahir Khan under sections 318(4) and 316(4) of the BNS for fraud and misappropriation.
Further investigation into the case is underway.