Ex-bank official held in Kerala on charges of cheating: Police

Police are investigating whether the accused withdrew the money from the complainant’s account using a forged signature. The documents have been sent to the forensic lab for testing

Kochi: A former assistant manager of an urban cooperative bank in Kerala’s Thiruvalla was arrested on Thursday on charges of cheating a depositor of the institution, a police officer said.

Police said a depositor of the the Thiruvalla Urban Co-operative Bank had filed a complaint in January accusing the former bank official of cheating her of nearly ₹6.7 lakh. (HT Archives)

The accused was identified as Preetha Haridas, a former staff of the Thiruvalla Urban Co-operative Bank in Pathanamthitta district.

“A depositor of the bank named Vijayalakshmi Mohan had filed a complaint in January accusing Preetha Haridas of cheating her of nearly ₹6.7 lakh. The complainant had deposited ₹3.5 lakh in the bank a few years ago and was supposed to get around ₹6.7 lakh in return including interest on the completion of maturity. But when she went to encash the cheque, she was told that the amount was already encashed,” said a top police officer who did not want to be named.

“We are investigating whether the accused withdrew the money from the complainant’s account using a forged signature. The documents have been sent to the forensic lab for testing,” he said.

The accused had approached the high court with an anticipatory bail petition, but it was dismissed. The court directed her to appear before the authorities by October 17. When she failed to appear, the police recorded her arrest on Thursday.