At the Punjab National Bank branch on Halsi Road, a startling example of check fraud has been discovered. Pankaj Gupta, a Kanpur businessman, attempted to transfer Rs.1 lakh into his son's bank account, however the funds were stolen and ended up in a different account in Jammu.
Actual Incident
Pankaj Gupta, who owns the Sharad Iron Store in Hatia Loha Bazar, deposited a check at the PNB branch on Halsi Road on July 4. The purpose of the check was to use NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) to send Rs.1 lakh to his son Paras Gupta's account.
But the money never reached Paras. Rather, Pankaj received a text message informing him that Rs.1 lakh had been credited to Mohit Arora at a Central Bank branch in Jammu City.
Pankaj was taken aback by the notification and went straight to the PNB branch to ask questions. After verifying the questionable transaction, bank manager Faiz Ahmed got in touch with the Central Bank to halt the payment and place the money on hold.
Local traders were notified and asked for assistance by Paras Gupta. Atul Dwivedi, the president of the Iron Traders' Committee, led the traders when they came at the bank and demanded stringent measures. They cautioned the bank manager to treat the matter seriously or else a formal complaint would be made.
After being called, the police looked over the branch's CCTV footage. A suspicious individual was seen on camera taking a check out of the bank's check deposit box. The fact that the check had been stolen on bank property was verified by the video.
According to the bank manager, a police report will be filed as soon as it is approved, and a complaint has already been forwarded to the Circle Head Office.
Details from the Stolen Cheque
According to Paras Gupta, he placed the check in the branch's check basket rather than a legitimate deposit machine. To move the funds to Mohit Arora's account, the check was dubiously altered. The information on the back of the check, including the account number, IFSC code, and even two mobile numbers, was not his.
The signature itself appeared to be phony. A different pen was used to sign his father's name, Pankaj. The check also lacked an official bank stamp, which added to the suspicions.
Bank’s Negligence
Banking regulations state that checks should never be placed in a basket but rather in a safe check deposit machine. However, the PNB Halsi Road branch made it easier for someone to steal by allowing checks to be collected in a plain basket.
The management responded that the employees might have forgotten to stamp the check when traders pointed out that it lacked the appropriate stamp. However, the traders noticed that other checks were marked, which led them to believe that internal complicity or carelessness may have been the cause of this scam.
