Rs 6-crore Faridkot bank fraud: Absconding clerk's wife arrested

In a financial fraud, a clerk at the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Sadiq town, Faridkot, has allegedly siphoned off nearly Rs 6 crore from over 130 customer accounts and is now absconding. The incident has left scores of account holders devastated, many of whom lost their life savings.

The accused, Amit Dhingra, is alleged to have manipulated customer records to carry out unauthorised withdrawals, premature closures of fixed deposits and changes in nominee details. The fraud came to light on Wednesday when several customers approached the branch after noticing suspicious activity in their accounts.

Emotional scenes were witnessed outside the bank, with elderly customers and women breaking down as they realised their entire savings had vanished.

Following a preliminary investigation, police have arrested Dhingra’s wife, Roopinder Kaur, after discovering that a significant portion of the defrauded money had been transferred to her bank account. “We have taken Roopinder Kaur into custody and are investigating further. Amit Dhingra remains absconding,” said DSP Tarlochan Singh.

Sources indicate that Dhingra had been manipulating records over a period of time without raising suspicion.

Branch officials have begun reviewing affected accounts. SBI field officer Sushant Arora, who recently joined the branch, said, “I was made aware of the fraud only today when several customers approached me with complaints. We are working to ensure that all affected accounts are thoroughly reviewed and funds restored as per bank protocol.”

An internal inquiry is underway, and the police have launched a manhunt to trace Amit Dhingra.