Two employees booked for ₹97-lakh fraud at Ludhiana firm

Based on a complaint, Division No. 5 police registered a case against Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, and Gagandeep Kaur, a Ludhiana resident

Police have booked two employees of a prominent Ludhiana-based business firm for allegedly defrauding the company of nearly ₹97 lakh through a series of fake credit card transactions.

The complainant alleged that the fraud was carried out in a planned and systematic manner, causing the firm losses of nearly ₹97 lakh. (HT FILE)

According to police, the accused pocketed cash received from customers and falsely recorded the payments as credit card transactions. They are also accused of generating fake swipe slips and manipulating sales records to conceal the alleged embezzlement. The alleged fraud came to light after an internal review by the company detected discrepancies between cash collections and recorded sales. Based on a complaint, Division No. 5 police registered a case against Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, and Gagandeep Kaur, a Ludhiana resident.

According to the complaint filed by Gurpreet Singh of Basant Avenue, Dugri, the two accused were employed at the firm’s showrooms in Kochar Market and were responsible for handling customer transactions and maintaining sales records.

Police said preliminary probe revealed that instead of depositing cash received from customers into the company’s accounts, the duo retained the money and recorded the transactions as credit card payments. To conceal the alleged embezzlement, they are accused of generating fake credit card swipe slips and manipulating daily sales reports so that the accounts appeared to tally.

The complainant alleged that the fraud was carried out in a planned and systematic manner, causing the firm losses of nearly ₹97 lakh.

Investigating officer ASI Sukhdeep Singh said, “A probe is underway to ascertain the exact amount involved and identify any other persons who may have played a role. We are examining bank records, transaction histories, sales data and other financial documents as part of the investigation.”

Police said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.