Lucknow, Nov 21 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested the district commandant of the Home Guard in Lucknow for preparing fake documents showing inflated attendance and forging signatures of station house officer to get salaries disbursed, causing huge loss to the state exchequer.

The commandant has been identified as Kripa Shanker.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Lucknow, Kalanidhi Naithani said: "Kripa Shanker was arrested following audit done by the police when inconsistencies were found in records from July to August this year in the attendance of home guards posted at Gudumba and Vibhuti Khand police stations."

Naithani said that more FIRs were being registered and arrests will take place soon as the trail of the scam unfolds.

The Home Guard salary scam first surfaced in Gautam Buddha Nagar after it was found that inflated attendance was being used to draw salaries of home guards by forging their signatures.

Later, on the directives of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a statewide audit was started and the scam emerged in Lucknow too.

Five Home Guards personnel -- a divisional commandant, an assistant district commandant and three platoon commanders -- were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly fraudulently withdrawing salaries of their colleagues in Gautam Buddha Nagar.

The Home Guards do not have a fixed monthly salary and are paid on the basis of the number of days they work.

The scam was suspected to have been orchestrated by an organised syndicate of Home Guard platoon commandants who marked the attendance of Home Guards even when they were not on duty and withdrew their emoluments which were distributed among themselves.