Superintendent of Police, Phek, in a statement issued on Tuesday, informed that in the course of enquiry, it was ascertained that a dealing clerk namely Veluvo Soho, currently posted at SBI (RACC) Mokokchung, had withdrawn the money in 2020 and no money was deposited or transferred in the fixed deposit account of the SBI account holder.
All the related documents were obtained and verified, and the fake fixed deposit receipt was also seized from the victim, it stated.
Later, the accused bank clerk was directed to report at Pfutsero PS. On reporting to the PS, he was arrested and is under police remand for thorough investigation of the case, it added.
It may be mentioned that on March 9, an SBI account holder had filed a complaint with the Pfutsero Police Station accusing the staff of fraudulently withdrawing INR 11.28 lakh, which was due to her after a fixed deposit she made with the bank matured in November last year.
In the complaint letter, the SBI account holder stated that she had transferred INR 10 lakh from her savings account on November 24, 2020, for a fixed deposit with 5% interest for a period of one year.
On attaining maturity, the principal amount along with interest amounting to INR 10, 49, 908 (approx. INR 10.49 lakh) was re-deposited to the bank for a period of one year, for which the depositor was supposed to receive INR 11, 28, 053 (approx. INR 11.28 lakh) after the maturity on Nov. 24, 2022, according to the complaint.
However, she claimed that when she visited the branch on December 5, 2022, to claim the amount, the bank officials asked her to come on another day, citing a big rush on that day. She visited the branch again on Jan. 24, 2023, and met with the bank officials.
“During the course of the discussion, to my utter surprise, it was disclosed that the matured value of INR 11,28,053 of mine had been fraudulently withdrawn by the staff of the bank without my knowledge and consent,” stated the complainant.
Upon threatening to register a criminal case against the branch if the bank didn’t deposit the amount due to her immediately, the bank officials requested her not to take any legal action by assuring to repay the amount within a short period of time, but the bank officers have failed to deposit the amount till the time of filing the complaint on March 9, according to the letter.
Meanwhile, it appealed to customers and public to check and verify all the related documents before leaving the bank counter. It also appealed to customers to count the cheque leaves whenever any new account is opened or a new chequebook is received in order to avoid such incidents in the future.