Patiala police nab five in Rs 1.22-cr bank fraud case

Patiala, September 27

The Patiala police have arrest five persons, including two women for siphoning off Rs 1.22 crore from a bank. 

The suspects have been identified as Kuldeep Kaur, Amarjit Singh, Gurlal Singh, Narinder Kaur and Karamjit Singh. The cops have recovered gold and other valuables from their possession.  The suspects have been sent to four-day police remand.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the police received a complaint from Devan Seth, manager, Jana Small Finance Bank Limited, Tripuri.  He said the bank had given a loan of Rs 30,000 each to Kuldeep Kaur and Rajbir Kaur in 2015 and increased the loan limit to Rs 60,000 each in 2019 on the basis of their track record. The bank later found out that the suspects used the given pre-paid cards for excessive transactions which amounted to Rs 1.22 crore. 

The women did 195 transactions to withdraw Rs 59.05 lakh and 443 transactions to withdraw Rs 62.99 lakh from the two pre-paid cards within a few months , while their card limit was just Rs 60,000 each.

The Police officials said the women used Rs 30 lakh for purchasing petrol and diesel from 25 petrol pumps and also purchased vehicles, including a bolero and an activa scooter, among others.

The SSP said the police has recovered 825-gm gold ornaments, a new bolero, an activa scooter from the suspects. 

He said the police is investigating the involvement of the bank officials and will question the petrol pump owners as Rs 30 lakh oil bill was questionable.

A case has been registered against the suspects under Sections 420, 465, 467,  468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC. — TNS