Woman siphons off ₹9.74 lakh from her 94-year-old grandmother’s FD

In December 2020, Poonam informed her grandmother that the KYC linked to her account in Abhyudaya Bank needed to be updated, and she had to visit the bank. The complainant did not suspect foul play as she was her granddaughter and visited the bank with her

MUMBAI: A 94-year-old woman registered a complaint against her granddaughter on Thursday after she took signatures on three RTGS forms under the guise of updating her KYC (Know Your Customer) form and transferred a total of ₹9.74 lakh from three fixed deposits into her own account.

She took her signatures on some forms for ‘updating KYC.’ Later, she brought three more forms and asked her to sign them.

The Ghatkopar police have booked the accused, Poonam Bhandari, 40, a resident of Uttarakhand.

The complainant, Khashtidevi Paansingh Bhakuni, had three children — Harish Singh, Mohan Singh, and Ramesh Singh. Harish died in 2021, while Mohan Singh died four years before that. The elderly woman lived with Ramesh Singh, 63, and his wife and daughter in Himalaya Society in Ghatkopar West.

Bhakuni’s husband Paansingh was with the Indian Navy and had opened a workshop in Ghatkopar after his retirement, where they manufactured tractor parts. Pannsingh died in 2013 in the city, and the unit became non-functional after Harish also died in 2021. Ramesh used to help in the workshop business, but currently, he and his wife are running private classes.

Talking to HT, Ramesh said, “Harish Singh’s daughter, Poonam is married and lives in Uttarakhand. When Harish was not well in December 2020, Poonam came to meet him. At that time, she stayed in Mumbai for two to three months.”

In December 2020, Poonam informed her grandmother that the KYC linked to her account in Abhyudaya Bank needed to be updated, and she had to visit the bank. The complainant did not suspect foul play as she was her granddaughter and visited the bank with her.

Poonam then made her board an auto and took her to Abhyudaya Bank in New Manik Estate in Ghatkopar West. As the complainant was not able to walk even short distances, she waited in the auto while her granddaughter did the formalities, said police sources.

She took her signatures on some forms for ‘updating KYC.’ Later, she brought three more forms and asked her to sign them. One of the bank employees standing next to her tried to alert the complainant, by asking if she knew what she was doing, but she did not suspect any foul play, said Ramesh.

The incident came to light after the elderly woman asked her elder and younger son to give her money, as she wanted to visit their native place. Harish used to safely keep his mother’s passbook and chequebook and on instructions from her, he went to the bank to withdraw money from her account. However, on visiting the bank, he came to know that the money in her three fixed deposits had already been withdrawn, said Ramesh.

The bank manager showed the details, and it became clear that the money was transferred to Poonam’s bank account and learnt that she had brought my mother to the bank, Ramesh said, adding that he came home and informed his mother about the money withdrawal Poonam had siphoned a total amount of ₹9.74 lakh from her bank account through RTGS.

As Poonam was in Mumbai at the time, the complainant confronted her and told her to return all the money. Poonam assured her that she would return all the money and left for Uttarakhand, said Ramesh.

“When Harish died in 2021, we went to their native place and requested Poonam to return the money, but she kept promising and did not return the money,” said Ramesh.

“In 2022, the complainant filed a case in Vikhroli court against Poonam, and the court ordered the police to register an FIR. Based on the court order, we have registered a case against Poonam Bhandari under section 420 (cheating) and 406 (breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code,” said a police officer.

The police will now send her a show cause notice, and further course of action will be decided after she attends the police station, said senior inspector Balwant Deshmukh of the Ghatkopar police station.