A woman police officer accused of embezzling ₹20.9 lakh while serving as a writer in the Muvattupuzha Traffic Enforcement Unit was arrested on Tuesday. The cop, Santhy Krishnan (45), was taken into custody on Monday after the Kerala High Court rejected her plea for anticipatory bail, noting that the prosecution’s case was supported by her bank statements, witness testimonies, and evidence seized from her residence. She was brought before the Vigilance Court in Kottayam and was remanded. 

Justice A Badharudheen, while dismissing her bail plea on August 25, observed that anticipatory bail in corruption cases can be granted only under exceptional circumstances, such as false implication or politically motivated charges. “In the present case, no such circumstances exist, and the prosecution cannot be said to be frivolous,” the order stated.

The accused allegedly committed the offence between 2009 and October 30, 2021. According to the High Court order, money collected by police officers as fines was entrusted to her for deposit in the State Bank of India branches at Aluva and Aramanappady. Investigators allege that while making deposits, she would show a lower amount in the original, duplicate, and triplicate expenditure voucher slips, obtain the bank seal, and later manipulate the records in the TR-5 Book to match the false entries—retaining the difference.

Santhy argued for bail, citing her status as a widow and alleged personal enmity with another constable. Her counsel also denied the allegations that she purchased property with misappropriated funds, claiming those were from legitimate sources. However, the police countered that she was the sole officer responsible for deposits during the period in question, and her salary and financial records—including multiple chitty investments—did not justify her assets.

During searches, police recovered several documents hidden from her residence, including the TA Acquittance Register, MV petty compound register, DL cancellation register, Judicial First Class Magistrate Court charge sheets, non-bailable warrants, bank passbooks, cheque books, and her personal notebook—all of which investigators say strengthen the case against her.

Santhy was booked by the Muvattupuzha police on July 21 under sections 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as under Section 13(1)(c) r/w 13(2) (public servant illegally enriching themselves ) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988,