Palghar: A vigilant State Bank of India (SBI) official from the Jawhar branch in Maharashtra’s Palghar district reportedly stopped a major fraud attempt of over Rs 111 crore belonging to the state Public Works Department (PWD). The officer became alert after noticing the words ‘million’ and ‘billion’ on the cheque, instead of ‘crore’, which was meant for a local contractor’s demand draft.
The cheque, dated November 7, was presented for an amount of Rs 111 crore and Rs 63 lakh, with a request to prepare a DD for O V Construction.
Why Did The Bank Official Become Suspicious?
Citing a source, TOI reported that the money was shown as being drawn from the PWD’s Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) account, where contractors usually submit deposits while applying for government tenders.
In addition to this, the bank official became suspicious when the amount on the cheque included the terms “million” and “billion”, which are not used in Indian banking currency language.
Moreover, his suspicion deepened when a third party, not connected to the PWD, arrived at the branch with the cheque and a request letter. For a transaction involving such a huge amount, the absence of any PWD official at the bank further raised doubts.
According to the report, the bank officer then visited the PWD officer to cross-check if the details were true. However, the department confirmed that the sign on the cheque was forged.
Police Arrest 2 People In The Fraud
Due to the swift action by the Bank Officer, the police have arrested the local contractor who presented the cheque, who is also the President of Jawhar Nagar Panchayat. Additionally, a contractual employee of the PWD was also arrested where a case of cheating and forgery has been registered against both.
Currently, the duo has been remanded to police custody, and the police are also examining whether more people were involved in the attempt to siphon off the funds.
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