PATNA, Jan. 9 -- The chief cashier of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, was arrested on Thursday on charges of fraud and misappropriation of government funds amounting to Rs.44.5 lakh. Gulam Shahbaz Alam, SHO of Phulwarisharif police station, said the chief cashier, Anurag Aman, was arrested near AIIMS on Thursday, a day after an FIR was registered against him on a complaint received from the AIIMS administration. The FIR was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to fraud, theft, dishonest misappropriation of property and criminal breach of trust. According to people familiar with the matter, Aman allegedly held cash received from patients for up to three days before depositing it into the institute's account. The irregularities were spotted during an internal audit by Piyush Anand, an accounts officer in the billing and registration section of the institute. When asked about it, Aman allegedly claimed he withheld the cash to address any exigencies related to patient refunds. But he could not provide any formal approval from the competent authority. He was also unable to immediately produce the funds he was holding, prompting the accounts officer to escalate the matter. An official said the chief cashier had indicated in the course of the inquiry that he invested the money in the stock market, but underlined that this aspect was being looked into....