Rs 1.33 crore siphoned off from NRI’s bank account

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 2

An NRI settled in the USA has been duped of Rs 1.33 crore after some persons managed to withdraw the money from his account at the Bank of India, Sector 17, using fake cheques.

The UT police registered an FIR on the basis of the complaint received from the victim and initiated an investigation into it.

In his complaint, Dr Ajay Sood, who is having an NRI bank account, stated that Rs 98 lakh was transferred to one Sachin Yadav of Gurugram and Rs 35 lakh to Mukesh Thakur of Bablu Cycles Services, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, through cheques on May 16 this year.

The complainant came to know about the fraud a few weeks later, after which he submitted a complaint to the bank and the police.

In his police complaint, Dr Ajay mentioned that the amount debited from his bank account was clearly fraudulent since he possesses the original and unused cheques.

He further alleged that this could not have happened without the connivance and collusion of bank employees.

Dr Ajay told Chandigarh Tribune that before committing the fraud, the accused got his phone number registered with the bank changed and also submitted a fake Aadhaar card to the bank with his name on it. “The bank is trying to delay and cover up its own negligence and fraud that happened at multiple levels. There are glaring loose ends and yet not a single arrest has been made so far,” he added.

The case, which has been registered at the Sector 17 police station, is being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing.

“I have been running from pillar to post to get my family’s hard-earned money back. This case is alarming everyone in my social circle here. How can someone so blatantly walk in and transfer out money from a bank that is supposed to be custodian of our funds?” he asked.

Bank officials involved: Victim 

The amount debited from my account is fraudulent since I possess the original and unused cheques. This could not have happened without the connivance and collusion of bank employees. — Dr Ajay Sood, victim