Six KSIC staff, one retired showroom in-charge booked for diverting customer payments

Mysore/Mysuru: Seven employees of Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) Ltd. Showroom on Kalidasa Road, Jayalakshmipuram, have been accused of allegedly misappropriating Rs. 18.75 lakh by creating fake receipts and failing to deposit customer payments into the KSIC’s account.

An FIR has been registered at the Jayalakshmipuram Police Station based on a complaint filed by Siddalinga Prasad, Manager at the KSIC Factory, naming seven individuals, including the showroom in-charge.

According to the FIR, those accused are: J. Yashvanth Kumar (showroom in-charge) and contract sales assistants M.B. Revanth Kumar, S. Pratima, M.V. Shobha, Amzad Ahmad, Mohammad Aamir, Anu and   others. The alleged fraud reportedly occurred between Sept. 2, 2024 and May 31, 2025.

The complaint states that the accused sold sarees to Government employees under instalment schemes using fake receipts but did not deposit the collected instalment payments into the KSIC account, causing financial loss to the corporation.

According to the complaint, the Jayalakshmipuram KSIC showroom has been operational since March 2022, with Yashvanth Kumar serving as the in-charge Sales Officer from June 2, 2024, until his retirement on May 31, 2025. On the day of his retirement, Venkatesh, the finished materials store officer, was appointed to take over store responsibilities.

During the handover on May 31, Venkatesh found four cheques worth Rs. 1,11,500 that had not been deposited into the KSIC account as required. The incident was immediately reported to the KSIC Central Office in Bengaluru.

Probe committee

Acting on instructions from the headquarters, Siddalinga Prasad, along with Finance Division Manager B.A. Vinay and two committee members conducted an inspection.

A random check revealed that multiple instalment cheques and customer receipts were missing and corresponding amounts were not credited to the KSIC account. The committee has since recommended a high-level probe into the financial irregularities.

On June 8, 2025, Pradeep (General Manager, Finance and Accounts), Sushmita (Auditor), and Naveen (Marketing Manager) from the KSIC Central Office visited the Kalidasa Road showroom for a detailed investigation.

Their inspection confirmed that the showroom in charge and six contract sales assistants had allegedly generated fake receipts and misappropriated payments, resulting in a total loss of Rs. 18,75,100.

Based on the findings, a case has been registered under Crime No. 27/2025 invoking Sections 316(5) – criminal breach of trust, 318(3) – cheating, 336(2), and 336(3) -forgery read with Section 190 – guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, 2023.