Indian Bank Manager Arrested in Rs.27 Lakh Fraud Case After 19 Years in Uttar Pradesh

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Uttar Pradesh has arrested Chhedalal Anurag, a bank manager from Agra, in connection with a 19-year-old bank fraud case. Chhedalal is currently working as the branch manager of Indian Bank (formerly Allahabad Bank) at Holipura in Agra.

Fraud in Indian Bank

The case dates back to the year 2006 and is related to a major banking fraud that took place in Banda district. At that time, a group of bank employees and private individuals together committed fraud worth ₹27 lakh at the Allahabad Bank branch in Atarra.

According to EOW, two fake bank accounts were opened in the Atarra branch using forged documents and fake identity cards. But this was not limited to just one bank. The accused also opened similar fake accounts in:

• Union Bank of India
• Punjab National Bank
• Central Bank of India
• Bank of Baroda

How the Fraud Happened in Indian Bank?

The accused got cheque books issued for these fake accounts. Using account payee cheques, they withdrew money from Allahabad Bank. The trick was that they managed to get approvals for these cheques without proper verification.

Some courier staff at the bank were also involved. They approved payments without checking if there was enough money in the accounts or verifying whether the cheques were genuine. In reality, these accounts only had ₹1,000 to ₹2,000, but large amounts were withdrawn using them.

This fraud could only happen because of the collusion between dishonest bank staff, fake account holders, and careless courier workers.

Action Taken Over the Years

Back in April 2006, the then manager of the Atarra branch, K.P. Dinkar, filed a police case against six accused, including one Rameshchandra Gupta, at the Atarra police station.

Later, after the initial investigation, the case was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Lucknow on 20 August 2015 for deeper investigation.

The EOW investigation found that 11 people were guilty — six of them were bank employees and five were private individuals.

Current Status of the Case

So far, all five private individuals involved in the fraud have been arrested and sent to jail, and a chargesheet has been filed against them. However, five bank employees are still absconding and are being actively searched for.

Now, after nearly two decades, the EOW has managed to arrest Chhedalal Anurag, one of the accused bank employees, from Agra.