In a recent development, the Mohali police have arrested another individual in connection with a bank fraud case involving the Cooperative Bank in Sialba village, Mohali. The accused has been identified as Harjinder Singh Raju, a 35-year-old resident of Mullanpur. This arrest comes a week after the arrest of an assistant bank manager, Jasvir Singh, who was also involved in the fraudulent activities.
The investigation has revealed that Jasvir and Raju had been working together for the past five years to embezzle funds from multiple bank accounts. Jasvir would forge signatures on fake vouchers to steal the money, while Raju would invest the stolen funds in properties. So far, a total of 35 bank customers have lodged complaints with the police regarding this scam. Some victims have lost substantial amounts, with one family losing around ₹1.5 crore and another victim losing ₹1 crore.
Upon further investigation, the police have recovered a Skoda car from Raju and are currently conducting a thorough probe to identify the properties that were purchased using the defrauded money. The fraudulent activities came to light when Jasvir was transferred to another branch and replaced by branch manager Tejpal Singh. Tejpal discovered discrepancies in the available cash and the amount listed in the documents, leading to the discovery of the fake vouchers and unauthorized debiting of money from customers’ accounts.
Jasvir had joined the bank as a helper in 2013 and gradually rose through the ranks to become an assistant branch manager. It has been reported that a few customers had confronted Jasvir a few years ago after realizing the fraud. At that time, Jasvir convinced them not to approach the police and promised to return the money. However, he failed to fulfill his promises, prompting the customers to report the matter to the police and senior bank officials. Jasvir had sold properties worth around ₹90 lakh and utilized around ₹30 lakh from the provident fund in an attempt to repay the customers, but the attempts were insufficient.
This incident marks the second bank fraud case in Mohali district within the span of three months. In a separate case in February, Gaurav Sharma, the manager of Axis Bank in Bansepur, Mullanpur, was arrested for stealing over ₹10 crore from customers’ accounts. After receiving complaints from defrauded customers, the Mohali police apprehended Sharma near the Nepal border in Uttarakhand after a week-long search.
The police investigation into the Cooperative Bank fraud case is ongoing, and efforts are being made to ensure that all those involved are brought to justice.