3 bank officials held for duping former Religare promoter’s wife

Police identified the three suspects as Komal Poddar, manager of RBL Bank in Connaught Place

Delhi police on Thursday said they have arrested three bank officials for allegedly conniving with a jailed inmate and two jail officers to dupe the wife of Shivinder Singh, the former promoter of Religare Enterprises who is currently in jail. Police said Shivinder’s wife, Aditi Singh, was allegedly duped of an undisclosed amount by people posing as officials who promised to bail him out.

RK Singh said police had registered a case in June last year after Aditi complained that some people had posed as officials from ministry of law and offered to bail her husband out. (HT File)

Police identified the three suspects as Komal Poddar, manager of RBL Bank in Connaught Place, and his two associates, Avinash Kumar and Jitender Narula, and said they were in cahoots with the mastermind, jailed inmate Sukesh Chandrashekar, who was earlier arrested in 2017 for duping a senior AIADMK politician.

Rohini jail deputy superintendent Dharam Singh Meena and assistant superintendent Subhash Bhatra were also arrested.

Additional commissioner of police (economic offences wing) RK Singh said the three bank officers had allegedly helped to facilitate dubious fund transfers. Police did not specify the money involved.

Shivinder was arrested in October 2019 in a case pertaining to alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Finvest Ltd.

RK Singh said police had registered a case in June last year after Aditi complained that some people had posed as officials from ministry of law and offered to bail her husband out.

“On August 7 and 8, we arrested two men who had come to take the money. The two then revealed that Chandrashekhar was running this racket from the prison. Chandrashekhar had spoofed the landline number of the ministry to make the victim believe that she was speaking to a senior ministry official. In this case, we had also arrested Meena and Bhatra,” the additional commissioner added.

On April 11, HT had reported about transfer of five officers from Rohini jail, after they were found to have helped inmates, especially Sukesh Chandrashekhar, smuggle cell phones inside the prison.