Cheques Stolen from Bank in Bhopal, Rs.1 Lakh Fraudulently Withdrawn, Police Investigating

A case of cheque theft and fraud has come to light in Bhopal, where an unidentified person stole cheques from a bank’s drop box. This serious incident was caught on CCTV, but even after ten days, the bank has not been able to confirm how many cheques were actually stolen. Meanwhile, a fraudulent withdrawal of ₹1 lakh has been reported from a different bank branch in the Ashoka Garden area using one of the stolen cheques.

How the Cheque Theft Happened

According to police officials, the theft took place at a bank located in Padmanabh Nagar, Bhopal. A drop box used for cheque deposits is installed near the bank’s ATM. On the morning of June 9, an unknown man approached the ATM area and took several cheques from this drop box. The entire act was recorded on CCTV installed outside the bank. In the video footage, a young man can clearly be seen stealing the cheques. The police are currently trying to identify and locate him.

Investigation by Police in Two Areas

• The Aishbagh Police Station is investigating the actual theft of cheques.
• The Ashoka Garden Police Station is handling the case of fraudulent withdrawal of ₹1 lakh from a customer’s bank account.

Aishbagh police station in-charge, Vijay Bahadur Singh Sengar, confirmed that the complaint regarding the theft was filed by the bank itself. He also stated that the bank is unsure about the exact number of cheques that were deposited in the drop box before the theft. On checking, the bank found 77 cheques in the drop box on the day of the incident, but it is unclear how many were missing.

How ₹1 Lakh Was Withdrawn from the Victim’s Account

The cheque fraud came to light when a resident named Alind Kumar Khare, who lives in New Minal Residency, filed a complaint. Alind has a bank account in the Govindpura branch located in Ashoka Garden. On June 6, he gave a cheque (number 951468) to a man named Rakesh Gurjar. It was an account payee cheque, which means the amount could only be deposited into Gurjar’s bank account.

Rakesh Gurjar, who has an account in a bank near Pink Tower, Padmanabh Nagar, dropped the cheque into the ATM drop box of his bank. However, after five days, the money still hadn’t reached his account. Concerned, he informed Alind about the delay.

Alind then visited his bank to check the status. To his shock, the bank told him that ₹1 lakh had already been withdrawn from his account, but not deposited into Gurjar’s account. This raised serious suspicion that someone had tampered with the cheque and fraudulently withdrew the amount.

Current Status of the Case

• CCTV footage is being reviewed to identify the thief.
• The bank has been asked to provide details of all the cheques deposited before the theft.
• Both the theft and the fraudulent withdrawal are under active police investigation.