Ex-banker nabbed for ATM fraud
In a major breakthrough, the Jalandhar rural police have arrested a former employee of Capital Small Finance Bank for allegedly siphoning off Rs 82.53 lakh by manipulating ATM cash deposits. The accused, who worked as a cashier, had been orchestrating the fraud by exploiting his position at the bank's Ugi branch.
The accused has been identified as Abhishek Khanna of Ajit Avenue, Kapurthala.
Speaking to mediapersons, SSP (Rural) Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said the accused devised a systematic method to embezzle funds. "The accused was responsible for ATM replenishment at various locations. Taking advantage of his position, he would deposit only a portion of the designated cash in ATMs while pocketing the remainder. To avoid detection, he manipulated the bank's digital records," SSP Khakh revealed.
A special police team comprising SP (Investigation) Jasroop Kaur Bath, DSP Sukhpal Singh, SHO Baljinder Singh of Sadar Nakodar police station, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Kabal Singh of Police Post Ugi conducted the operation that led to the arrest.
The fraudulent activities came to light when Harinder Singh, Deputy Head of Department at Capital Small Finance Bank's GT Road branch, lodged a complaint. During a routine audit on February 17, bank officials detected discrepancies in ATM cash reconciliation statements. An internal investigation revealed systematic manipulation of records and cash deposits spanning several months.
Based on the bank's complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 406, 409, and 420 of the IPC.
During preliminary interrogation, the accused confessed to diverting funds to his personal accounts through a series of manipulated transactions. He admitted to deliberately misreporting ATM cash deposits and maintaining parallel records to conceal the embezzlement.
The police will produce the accused before the local magistrate's court, seeking remand for detailed interrogation. "We need to investigate the possibility of collusion and recover the misappropriated amount," SSP Khakh said.
Khakh warned that the police would deal strictly with white-collar crimes and financial frauds. Anyone involved in bank frauds or financial crimes would face severe consequences.
