Dubagga, Lucknow: Account holders created a chaos on Monday at the Bank of Baroda branch located inside the Shakuntala Misra Rehabilitation University campus on Mohan Road, Para. They alleged that bank employees were involved in a fraud of more than ₹10 crore.
More than 30 customers locked the main gate of the branch, staged a protest, and disrupted banking operations. Police from Para police station reached the spot and calmed the protesters around 6:30 PM.
They allege that the business correspondent (BC/Bank Mitra) took lakhs of rupees from them in the name of FDs but did not process the FDs.
Account holders allege that Bank Mitra Shiva Rao and his associate Deepak lured them into depositing lakhs of rupees in the name of FDs by promising high interest. Later, they discovered that no valid FDs had been made in their names. After protesting at the bank’s head office on May 22nd, they were assured that their money would be returned on June 22nd, but that did not happen.
Customers alleged that fake fixed deposits (FDs) were created and thumb impressions, deposit slips, and forged cheques were misused to withdraw money.
The victims said that in a meeting with officials at the bank’s head office on May 22, they were assured of a refund by June 22. Angry account holders, who had not received their payments despite the deadline, arrived at the bank around 12 noon on Monday and began protesting.
Account holders said that they would not allow any bank work to be carried out until their deposits were returned. During the protest, the main gate of the bank was closed, and everyone remained inside to press their demands.
Inspector Suresh Singh said that the main accused in the case—Shiva Rao, Deepak, and Vikas, along with Vikas’s mother and wife—have already been sent to jail. He added that a charge sheet has also been filed in court against Bank Manager Himanshu Kukreti after the investigation.
According to the police, around ₹2.5 crore has been returned to 72 out of 130 affected account holders. The remaining victims are demanding a written assurance about when their money will be refunded.
