Guwahati IndusInd Bank lady manager who siphoned off Rs 3.7 crore caught in Moradabad

The woman, who had allegedly siphoned off Rs 63 lakh from the account of a doctor called Biraj Jyoti Goswami, at least two other customers complained of withdrawal of Rs 1 crore and Rs 28 lakh respectively. “We have so far received four FIRs showing a total sum of Rs 3.70 crore being siphoned off by the woman,” Nath said.

The Police Commissioner said the woman was involved in illegal and unauthorised withdrawal and transfer of money from the accounts of various customers since 2014, initially to meet targets of investments through various kinds of deposits, schemes and insurances in the bank. “Gradually she probably found it easy to withdraw cash right away through some fraudulent accounts and also at least two accounts, one in her husband’s name, the other in the name of her minor daughter,” Nath said. Her husband Shankar Sinha, who was till recently with the Gangtok branch of the same bank, was already arrested last week.

The woman had left Guwahati for Delhi on July 27 with Rs 43 lakh in cash with her, of which she left behind one bag containing Rs 10 lakh for fear of being detected and caught in the Guwahati railway station baggage X-ray machine, the Police Commissioner said. “When we arrested her, she had Rs 27 lakh in cash with her. She claimed she had spent the remaining amount,” he said.

The Police Commissioner said this incident could just be the tip of the iceberg of bank frauds suspected to be going on in Guwahati. “We are expecting more bank customers to come up with such complaints. While on one hand it exposes the poor check-and-balance mechanism in private banks, it looks like just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Meanwhile, an official statement issued by IndusInd Bank late Monday evening said it had come across a suspected case of fraud in its Paltanbazar branch in Guwahati in which a bank employee’s involvement was also suspected. “The bank has terminated the services of the employee and has filed a police complaint.  It is assisting the police and relevant  authorities in its investigations,” the statement said.