Mysuru: The Udupi police have arrested a 31-year-old Indian expatriate, Nagesh Poojary, who is accused of embezzling Rs 2.5 crore from a hotel owned by Dubai's Fortune Group while serving as the chief accountant.

Poojary, a resident of Barkur in Udupi district, reportedly siphoned off the funds in a phased manner. After initially securing bail from a judicial magistrate first class court, he went absconding following the cancellation of his bail by both the district sessions court and the Karnataka High Court.

Police arrested him near Nanjangud in the Mysuru district. Poojary was subsequently presented before a court, which has remanded him in police custody for three days, until October 16, for further investigation.

Poojary joined the Dubai-based Fortune Group of Hotels, managed by Kundapur hotelier Varkady Praveen Kumar Shetty, as an accountant and was promoted to chief accountant in 2022. In 2023, he returned to India for his wedding on a three-month leave, which he later extended. After his request for an additional 15 days was denied, he resigned via email.

During a review of the hotel’s financial records, the management discovered a shortage of Rs 2.55 crore, which Poojary had allegedly embezzled by creating false entries in the accounts to cover up his cash transactions. Following the cancellation of his bail, he evaded authorities.

The government recently appointed Shivaprasad Alva, a senior law officer from Mangaluru, as the special public prosecutor to handle the case.

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Shahjahanpur (UP) (PTI): Two persons have been detained after a clash broke out allegedly over remarks targeting a Dalit family's wedding procession in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Lai Kheda village under Tilhar police station area, where a wedding procession from Bareilly had arrived at a Dalit household on April 20.

According to SP Saurabh Dixit, when the procession was near the house of Rajpal Yadav, he allegedly made a remark saying "Now, Dalits will also take out wedding processions riding a buggy", leading to an argument. Yadav's side allegedly turned aggressive, escalating the conflict further.

Police said a scuffle ensued between the two sides. Upon receiving information, police personnel reached the spot and ensured that the procession was conducted peacefully after the incident.

An FIR was registered on Friday against Rajpal Yadav, Sumit, Amit, Surendra, Avdhesh Yadav and five unidentified persons based on a complaint. Rajpal Yadav and his son Sumit have been taken into custody and are being questioned, Dixit said.

The case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said.

Dixit said preliminary findings suggest that Yadav, too, was hosting a function and processions from both sides had arrived around the same time. A dispute may have initially arisen due to a narrow passage and attempts to move the processions quickly.

Police have registered the case under relevant sections of the BNS and initiated further probe, officials said.