Mumbai: Bank staff dupes 73-year-old, flees with ₹1.3 crore

Andheri police launched a manhunt for a female employee of a private bank for allegedly cheating a 73-year-old man to the tune of ₹1.3 crore by befriending him after she realised that he had substantial amount invested in fixed deposits with her bank.

Andheri police launched a manhunt for a female employee of a private bank for allegedly cheating a 73-year-old man to the tune of ₹1.3 crore by befriending him after she realised that he had substantial amount invested in fixed deposits with her bank.

For representational purposes only. (HT FILE)

A first information report (FIR) was registered on Friday, three months after the senior citizen submitted a written application to the police.

According to the police, the complainant Jeron John D’Souza, a resident of Malwani in Malad, alleged that a woman named Shalini Singh befriended him and after promising to marry him, she cheated him of ₹1.3 crore.

D’Souza claimed that his father’s plot near domestic airport at Santacruz was sold to a builder in 2010, and he had received 20% of the sale price which amounted to ₹2 crore. He said he had invested the amount in four equal parts in different banks in fixed deposits. He met Singh while visiting the private bank where she worked.

In September last year, Singh met D’Souza and proposed marriage. She told him that she would start a business with D’Souza’s money and invest it so that they could divide the profit between them. After this, D’Souza transferred ₹1.30 crore to her in December last year. After receiving the money, the woman stopped meeting D’Souza and answering his calls, according to the complaint.

D’Souza realised that he had been cheated and wrote an application to Andheri police as the bank she worked for was located within their jurisdiction.