FIR Over Rs 1.71 Crore Cash Gap at Cantonment Hotel

Cantonment police have registered an FIR against four employees of a hotel in the Cantt police station area after management alleged a cash shortfall of about Rs 1.71 crore uncovered when chartered accountants compared books with physical cash.

The accused named in the complaint are general manager Sandeep Patial, finance manager Anupam Singh, cashier Kaushal Kishore Singh and human resources manager Pradeep Kumar Tiwari. Hotel management alleges they conspired to embezzle funds and cover the gap with forged documents and false claims of software trouble.

According to the written complaint filed by Tarun Kumar Dixit, adviser to the hotel's director, management had long suspected a mismatch between cash and bank deposits. When staff were asked, they reportedly blamed a technical problem in the software. A chartered accountant was then engaged to reconcile cash and records.

That verification, the complaint says, showed that cash on hand as of 31 March 2026 should have been Rs 2,06,72,991 while physical verification found only Rs 55 lakh, a gap of Rs 1,51,72,991. For the period from 1 April to 8 September 2026, books indicated Rs 25,85,000 should have been in cash while only Rs 5,91,979 was found, a further shortfall of Rs 19,93,021. Combined, management alleges a total gap of Rs 1,71,65,962. A second chartered accountant's check reportedly put the difference near Rs 1,71,65,041.

Station house officer Rajkishore Pandey confirmed that the case has been registered and is under investigation. All figures and allegations of conspiracy, embezzlement and document forgery remain claims in the complaint until proved in court. The FIR stage does not establish guilt.

Hotel cash desks handle large daily volumes from rooms, banquets and walk-in services, which is why management-level audits matter when suspicion arises. In this instance the complaint path ran from internal doubt to two CA verifications and then to the police station, rather than stopping at an internal warning.

Investigators will typically call for ledgers, software logs, CCTV of the cash room if available, and statements from the named employees. Whether the gap is theft, accounting error, or something else is precisely what the inquiry is meant to test. Until that work advances, the public record is the FIR, the named designations, and the alleged sum.

Cantt is a dense hospitality belt for travellers arriving by rail and road. A case of this size will draw attention from industry peers as much as from guests. For now the verified fact is narrower: police have taken cognisance of a management complaint alleging a Rs 1.71 crore cash shortfall and have named four employees in the FIR while the probe continues.