The Mohali Police have successfully apprehended Gaurav Sharma, a bank manager who had been evading arrest after defrauding people of crores of rupees deposited in Axis Bank. The accused will be presented in court today, and the police will request his remand for further investigation.
During the interrogation and police remand, authorities will seek answers to various questions, including the whereabouts of the accused during his escape and any individuals who may have aided him during this period. Recovering the defrauded amount, which amounts to crores of rupees, is also a priority for the police.
A case has been registered against Gaurav in the Mullanpur Police Station under sections related to fraud. Mohali SSP Sandeep Garg is expected to hold a press conference today to provide further details on the matter.
The arrest of the accused was made possible under the supervision of SSP Sandeep Garg. As news of the fraud spread, people gathered outside the bank and raised slogans, with support from the Farmers Union. In response, SSP Garg assembled a special team to investigate the case. After conducting extensive raids in the surrounding areas, the police located and apprehended the accused, bringing him back to Mohali.
Background of case
Recently, an embezzlement case involving crores of rupees came to light at the Axis Bank branch located in Bansepur village, under the New Chandigarh Mullanpur police station. This incident caused an uproar among account holders who rushed to the bank to check their accounts, only to find that large sums of money were missing from many customers’ accounts.
According to the customers, they allege that the bank manager himself had withdrawn their money, leading to angry protests and slogans against the manager. In response to the customers’ anger, the bank employees left the bank and fled. Later, the affected customers filed complaints at the New Chandigarh Mullanpur police station. The acting branch head of Axis Bank, Vikas Sood, lodged a complaint against the manager, Gaurav Sharma, who resides in BPO Bhoa tehsil Pathankot.
The police have registered a case against the manager under sections 381, 409, and 20B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and have initiated an investigation. They assure that the accused will be apprehended soon.
Customers present at the scene reported that they had deposited their money in various forms, including fixed deposits and savings accounts. They alleged that the bank manager had changed the mobile numbers linked to their accounts, preventing them from receiving transaction messages. Additionally, the bank employees had not been updating the passbooks of customers for several months, saying that machine was not working.
The incident came to light when a customer discovered missing money after obtaining their account statement from another source. Suspicion grew when the bank manager did not show up for work for several days. The manager resides alone in a flat on the third floor of house number 302 located in Ambika Florence Park. After the incident, the flat was locked, and the manager’s phone was switched off.
One of the affected customers, Gurdeep Singh, filed a complaint with the police stating that his family had received compensation for land acquisition from PUDA, which he had deposited in his savings account at Axis Bank in the village. When he went to withdraw the money on Wednesday afternoon, he discovered that his account was empty. After contacting the bank manager, his phone was switched off. Gurdeep mentioned that the manager had linked his mobile number to his account, which prevented him from receiving transaction notifications.
Similar experiences were reported by other customers who found large sums of money missing from their accounts. For example, one customer discovered that Rs 15 lakh was missing, while another found Rs 70 lakh missing. It is alleged that the manager transferred money from customers’ accounts to different names, with a significant portion of the funds being transferred to the manager’s parents’ account. The victims reported that the manager had linked his mobile number to their bank accounts.
The investigation is ongoing, and the police are working to apprehend the accused and recover the embezzled funds.
The embezzlement case at the Axis Bank branch in Bansepur, New Chandigarh Mullanpur has caused significant distress among account holders who discovered missing funds from their accounts. The police have registered a case against the bank manager and are actively investigating the matter.
