Ludhiana: ₹46L fraudulently drawn from elderly NRI’s account

The complainant, Balwant Singh of Heera village, said that when he went to the bank to withdraw cash, he was shocked to know that he had only ₹20,000 in the account

Strap: Elderly returned from Canada after 7 years, found only ₹20,000 in his bank account

The retired PSPCL junior engineer filed a complaint with the bank manager and police. (HT Photo)

A probe has been offered after ₹46 lakh were allegedly fraudulently withdrawn from an 80-year-old non-resident Indian’s (NRI), who returned to Punjab after seven years. The amount was reportedly transferred to various accounts from automated teller machines (ATM) and internet banking. However, the NRI asserted that he has never availed any of the services. He suspects involvement of the bank employees in the fraud and filed a complaint to Ludhiana rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Navneet Singh Bains, who then marked a probe.

The complainant, Balwant Singh of Heera village, said that when he went to the bank to withdraw cash, he was shocked to know that he had only ₹20,000 in the account.

Balwant stated that he retired as a junior engineer from Punjab Stated Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). He had a senior citizen account in State Bank of India’s (SBI) Sudhar Branch and had deposited his savings in it. He added that his pension was also being deposited into the same.

“I have permanent residency (PR) in Canada. I went to Canada in 2017 and returned on April 24 this year. I visited the bank to withdraw cash from my account on April 26. The bank employees informed me that i have only ₹20,000 in the account,”said Balwant Singh.

He added that he filed a complaint with the bank manager as well.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP Jagraon) Jasjyot Singh said that the cyber cell has been asked to investigate the matter. The police will solve the matter soon, he added.