E-Paper
Patiala: 5 branches of govt banks under scanner after ₹6.62 lakh found in old currency
The matter came to light after the fake currency reached the regional office of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at Jaipur
Five branches of government banks in the district have come under the scanner after fake notes in the old currency amounting to ₹6.62 lakh were found after demonetisation. Around 684 fake notes of old currency were deposited in five branches of Patiala-based bank branches during 2017-18.
The matter came to light after the fake currency reached the regional office of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at Jaipur.
On the complaint of the RBI, Jaipur, assistant general manager Om Prakash Kavya, Punjab Police, on Monday, registered a case against unidentified employees of a branch of Punjab & Sind Bank and four branches of State Bank of India (SBI).
As per the first information report (FIR), three of the branches under scrutiny are located in Patiala City while one SBI Branch is located in Patran and another in Rajpura.
Kavya, in his complaint, said the fake notes were deposited in the RBI regional office by five branches from April 2017 to March 2018.
A Patiala Police official, requesting anonymity, said, “Of the 683 fake notes in old currency, 43 were in the denomination of ₹500 and 641 were in the denomination of ₹1,000.”
“The scam was noticed in December, 2019, when RBI detected the fake currency. Later, a Zero FIR (an FIR filed in any police station outside the jurisdictional limitations and location of the incident) was registered at Jaipur. teh case was forwarded to Punjab Police on February 1. After conducting an initial inquiry, police have registered a case here,” the police official said.
Station house officer (SHO) Civil Lines police station inspector Rahul Kaushal said, “A case was registered against unidentified persons employed in five branches of government sector banks under Section 489A (counterfeiting currency-notes or bank-notes) of the Indian Penal Code.”
