E-Paper
Ludhiana: ₹53.7 lakh siphoned from dead govt staffer’s account in bank fraud
According to the complaint, the account belonged to his father Iqbal Singh, a retired sub-divisional officer of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, who died on November 7, 2024
A case of alleged large-scale bank fraud has come to light in Khanna, where over ₹53 lakh was reportedly withdrawn from the account of a deceased government employee through unauthorised transactions. The Cyber Crime police station of Khanna registered an FIR and initiated an investigation.
The complaint was lodged by Pritpal Singh, a resident of Krishna Nagar, Khanna, who alleged that ₹53.74 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn from his late father’s bank account at a private bank branch in the city.
According to the complaint, the account belonged to his father Iqbal Singh, a retired sub-divisional officer of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, who died on November 7, 2024. The family approached the bank on March 20, 2026, to transfer the account to the name of the deceased’s wife, only to discover that the balance had dwindled to just ₹827.
On inquiry, bank officials informed them that the entire amount had been withdrawn through two cheques. The complainant alleged that a cheque book had been issued in his father’s name on September 1, 2025—nearly ten months after his death—without the family’s knowledge or consent.
The police said the first cheque, amounting to ₹20 lakh, was encashed on September 12, 2025, while the second cheque of ₹33.74 lakh was cleared on January 12, 2026. Both transactions were reportedly made in favour of a private firm.
The complainant further alleged that no transaction alerts or verification calls were received on his father’s registered mobile number, and no family member had authorised or signed the cheques.
He had earlier lodged a complaint through the cybercrime helpline, following which the matter was taken up by the police.
Based on the findings, a case has been registered against unidentified fraudsters under sections 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property), 336 (3) (forgery committed with the intent to cheat), 338 (forgery of valuable securities, wills, or documents), 340 (2) (fraudulent or dishonest use of a forged document or electronic record as genuine), 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66 (D) (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information and Technology Act. Police suspect the involvement of unidentified bank officials in connivance with private entities.
Officials at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Khanna, said investigations are underway to trace the beneficiaries of the transactions and identify those responsible for the alleged fraud.
