Eleven employees of Bank of Baroda Kalikiri branch, five others arrested
Huge amounts were being deducted from over 150 accounts of DWCRA members and customers having fixed deposits in the bank
TIRUPATI: The Kalikiri police on Thursday arrested 16 persons, including 11 bank employees, in connection with the embezzlement of funds in the Kalikiri branch of Bank of Baroda.
The fraud, involving 11 bank employees and their relatives, came to light after complaints were lodged by customers Majjiga Prasanna Lakshmi and some other victims.
It turned out that, in the last three years, huge amounts were being deducted from over 150 accounts of DWCRA members and customers having fixed deposits in the bank. They received no message on their phones about these deductions, and noticed the fraud only when they updated their passbooks. Following this, they lodged complaints.
Disclosing the case details to the media at Kalikiri on Thursday, ASP Mahesh said the first accused Mulla Sayed Ali Khan (34), a messenger at the Kalikiri branch of BoB, and four of his relatives were arrested by the police from Indiramma colony on Thursday morning.
“Ali Khan and some of the bank staff got together and swindled over Rs 1 crore from the accounts of Sangha Mitra members and from the personal savings and fixed deposit accounts of customers without their knowledge, policed found out.
The accused bank staff had used the IDs and passwords of customers and created fake loan documents with forged signatures. The loan amounts were further transferred to the savings accounts of Ali Khan’s relatives, it was learnt.
During this time, the staff, using new technology, stopped the transaction messages going to the respective clients' mobile phones, the ASP said.
“After the money was transferred to various accounts of Ali Khan’s relatives, Khan withdrew the amounts and bought 1,120 grams of gold ornaments. He pledged these in the same bank and took money.
He then shared the booty with other bank staff. They were doing this for the past three years and have looted over Rs1 crore,” the ASP said.
With the help of bank officials, all the jewel loans in the name of Ali Khan’s family members have been frozen.
The police recovered Rs 70,20,000 in the form of Rs 20 lakh in cash, papers related to the 1,120 grams of gold pledged in the bank, 12 cell phones and three two-wheelers, and also frozen eight bank accounts of Ali Khan’s relatives.
Those arrested in the case were BoB joint-manager Jaya Krishna (34), head cashier Shek Moulali (32), bank agricultural officer Ramaswamy Eswaran (24), bank officer Patan Abeedh Mubeen (32), clerk Teja Sai (27), operations officer Ramachandrudu (35), clerk Eelu (28), bank officer Shareef Basha (28), business associate Surendra Nayak (33), business associate Mohamad Shareef (43), bank officer Chinnaiah (62) and Ali Khan’s relatives Chandini (24), Shek Kadirunnisa (39), Sayed Arifunnisa (28) and Moghul Hajirunnisa (22).