Deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi has been booked on charges of cheating, financial irregularities and misappropriation of government funds, following a complaint by a police constable who claimed that he was denied reimbursement of ₹1.87 lakh spent on official arrangements.
The charges relate to a period when Gandhi, a 2012-batch IPS officer, was serving as superintendent of police, Shimla, from 2023 to February 7, 2026. He was promoted to DIG in January this year.
Gandhi has termed the allegations false and said he would respond through legal means.
According to the complaint and findings of a preliminary examination of financial records, a case was registered at Shimla Sadar police station on Thursday under Sections 316(5), 314, 318, 336 and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The complainant, a constable posted at Kaithu police lines in Shimla, alleged that he had been assigned responsibilities for official work and arrangements during 2024 and 2025. He claimed that he was asked to make the necessary arrangements using his personal funds and was assured that the expenditure would subsequently be reimbursed.
According to the complaint, the constable spent a total of ₹1.87 lakh on the arrangements and submitted the relevant bills to the office. The bills were reportedly examined and approved for payment. The constable alleged that on February 6, 2026, Gandhi, who was then serving as SP, Shimla, called him to his office and obtained his signatures on payment-related vouchers by allegedly misleading him into believing that the signatures were required to complete the reimbursement process. However, the complainant claimed that despite signing the vouchers, he did not receive the approved amount.
The complainant further stated that after he inquired in July, the accounts branch told him that the funds in question had already been withdrawn but had not been credited to his account.
The police, in a statement, said that the relevant financial records were examined after the complaint was received.
The investigation revealed that a total of ₹2.35 lakh had been illegally withdrawn from a district police fund over the two years.
The police alleged that there is no record indicating the purpose for which Gandhi, then SSP, had used the funds.
According to the records, when Gandhi was transferred to the department of personnel, he allegedly diverted the approved payment meant for the complainant to cover a shortfall in a fund.
Reacting to the development, Gandhi said the FIR has been registered against him for questioning the utilisation of funds under the Himachal Pradesh Police Road Safety Fund. He demanded an independent audit and rejected the allegations of financial misappropriation.
“I will respond to the allegations through legal means. The action against me is linked to my demand for an audit of the road safety fund,” he said.