Gurgaon court slams police, grants bail to female ex-manager accused of Rs 32-lakh fraud

The Kherki Daula police on June 15 booked Richa Singh, who joined as sales manager of Karma Lakelands, Sector 80, in September 2024, for criminal breach of trust by an employee, carrying penalties for dishonest misappropriation of property entrusted to them.

The court pointed out that since sales employees routinely handle client transactions on behalf of the company, CCTV footage of cash exchange alone cannot constitute incriminating evidence of fraud without documentary proof of the exact amount received or misappropriated.

Sessions Judge Kaur noted that the prosecution’s case relied almost entirely on internal company reconciliations and a single CCTV footage clip showing cash being handed over.

Accusation against former employee

Singh was entrusted with negotiating client bookings and handling event receivables. The management alleged that between October 2025 and March 2026, Singh illegally collected large cash payments from clients, pocketed the funds, and manipulated internal accounts software to cover up the missing money.

The firm claimed the matter came to light in March when a client, Mukesh Kumar, approached them regarding his daughter’s wedding scheduled for March 11.

Although his booking was missing from the internal system, as per the complaint, Kumar revealed he had paid Rs 7.50 lakh in cash directly to Singh in January, alongside an earlier cash payment of Rs 10 lakh in November 2025. The company alleged that Singh adjusted funds between different client accounts — including payments from other clients — to conceal a total fraud amounting to Rs 32.50 lakh before erasing her computer data and quitting her job.

In her anticipatory bail application, Singh denied all charges, maintaining that she was falsely implicated as a retaliatory measure.

Her counsel highlighted that between October 2025 and January 2026, Singh had repeatedly raised serious written concerns with company executives regarding the safety and security of female staff on duty. Rather than addressing her safety concerns, the management arbitrarily reduced her salary, leading to a strained employer-employee relationship.

How job-related dispute turns into criminal case

The former female manager argued that the First Information Report (FIR) was lodged months after she stopped attending work to convert a purely employment-related dispute into a criminal prosecution. It was further pointed out that all accounting records, computers, and files remained in the company’s sole custody, and no personal cash receipts signed by Singh were produced.

The judge took strong exception to the conduct of the investigating officer, an assistant sub-inspector, noting that he had failed to examine company accounting records or check whether the firm had authorised high-value cash transactions.

“The IO failed to reply under what law the company can give approval for receiving an amount more than Rs 2 lakh in cash… but IO is totally silent to assist the court on this point, which raises doubt of evasion of tax i.e., income tax, GST, etc. IO seems to be mouthpiece of the complainant company,” the court remarked.

Female staff safety is a matter of concern

Highlighting the timeline of events, the court observed that Singh had e-mailed the management raising concerns about the safety of female staff on October 15, 2025. Despite company assurances, her salary was subsequently cut, leading to harassment and her eventual departure from the workplace in January 2026. Furthermore, despite allegedly discovering the cash transactions on March 5, 2026, the company delayed filing a formal complaint until June 12, 2026, the court observed.

Judge Kaur held that the complaint made by the woman employee of the hospitality firm to her higher-ups raising safety and security issues of female staff while on duty is a matter of serious concern.