Man tries to open bank account using Aadhaar with photo of gangster Goldy Brar

Pathankot, July 8

The Pathankot police have launched a manhunt for a man who tried to open a bank account in a nationalised bank by producing an Aadhaar card, which bore the photograph of Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar.

A youth visited a nationalised bank on the busy Dhangu road around noon. He met the manager and requested him to open a bank account. When it came to filing the Know Your Customer (KYC) details, he produced an Aadhaar card, which had Brar’s photo.

The alert bank manager rang up SSP Arun Saini, who in turn, asked the manager to keep the man busy by indulging in small talk till he and his team of officers arrived. The manager asked his staff to keep an eye on the man’s activities even as he engaged him in a discussion pertaining to his KYC.

Sensing that something was wrong, the man asked a bank employee to let him use the washroom. However, instead of going towards the washroom, the accused ran towards the main entrance and fled. An employee tried to chase the man on a two-wheeler but in vain.

The SSP said the photo on the man’s Aadhaar card matched Brar’s photo. “He had taken the photo from the internet,” said the SSP.

Taking the help of the KYC details, the police have identified the man as one Mangi Ram from Jodhpur.

An officer claimed that a car bearing a Haryana number plate remained parked outside the bank till the suspect was inside the premises. “It is possible that he fled in that very car. Bank employees have also told us that his appearance and language looked “Haryanvi in nature”.

Saini said the police was working on different angles. Neighbouring police districts have been alerted and the registration number of the vehicle has also been shared with them. “The footage from CCTV cameras is being studied,” said Saini.

The police team stayed in the bank for nearly three hours trying to ascertain what exactly had happened and also the motive of the accused in producing an Aadhaar card with Brar’s photograph on it. An FIR has been registered at the Division No 2 police station.