DEHRADUN: In a joint operation, Uttarakhand STF and cyber cell on Friday arrested two officials of a nationalised bank for fraudulently withdrawing Rs 12 lakh from the account of a Dehradun-based bank customer.
According to police, the accused have been identified as -- Dehradun-resident Anirudh Thapa, assistant manager in the bank's Badarpur branch in Delhi, and Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)-resident Sunny Guleri, manager of the bank's regional office in Dehradun.
The accused carried out the fraud by changing the registered mobile number mentioned in the customer’s bank account. Therefore, the victim bank customer didn’t get any SMS alert when the withdrawal was made. Ankush Mishra, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), told TOI that a case in the matter was lodged based on the complaint made by Dehradun-resident Suman Sehgal. He added that the accused were nabbed after an investigation led by inspector Tribhuvan Rautela.
“In her complaint, Sehgal who holds an account in the bank's Selaqui branch alleged that some unidentified people transferred an amount of Rs 12 lakh from her account. She didn't get an SMS alert on the transaction and came to know about it while making a transaction at an ATM. She approached police after consulting with bank officials,” said DSP Mishra.
The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
“A cyber forensic examination disclosed the mobile numbers, e-mail IDs, e-wallet and other details used in the crime. Based on these findings, the two accused were held on Friday. The accused invested the stolen money to buy digital gold. They later divided the profit among themselves,” said Mishra.
This was the second such case reported from Uttarakhand in the last two months. Earlier, the STF had arrested three employees of the same bank, including a senior official in Delhi, for withdrawing Rs 30 lakh from a customer's account in a similar manner.
In case of online fraud, people can contact cyber helpline number -- 1930.
