Kota: ICICI Bank RM funnels Rs 4.58 cr from customer accounts, loses most of it in stocks
Kota, Jun 8 (PTI): A relationship manager in an ICICI bank branch in Kota allegedly swindled around Rs 4.58 crore from customers' accounts only to lose the lot of it in the stock market, police on Friday said.
She was arrested last week and is currently under judicial custody, they said.
The accused, Sakshi Gupta, was posted as a relationship manager at ICICI Bank's DCM branch.
Police said she had been pilfering from more than 110 accounts belonging to 41 customers for around two and a half years.
She allegedly invested these amounts in the stock market and lost a large chunk of it, they said.
Branch manager Tarun Dadich filed a complaint against her at the Udhyog Nagar Police Station on February 18, accusing her of siphoning Rs 4.58 crore from customer accounts.
Based on the complaint, Gupta, who worked at the branch from 2020 to 2023, was arrested on May 31.
During the investigation, it was revealed that she changed the mobile numbers linked with several accounts to her relatives' numbers, ensuring that transaction alerts and OTPs were not received by the real account holders.
Sub Inspector Ibrahim said Gupta systematically transferred funds to different accounts, in some cases using an elderly woman's account, who was unaware of the activity, as a "pool account."
By February 15, 2023, she had transferred more than Rs 3 crore to this account alone, he said.
He alleged that Gupta misused debit cards, PINs, and OTPs for these transactions, and even activated overdraft facilities on 40 accounts without consent.
She prematurely closed fixed deposits of 31 customers' accounts, funnelling over Rs 1.34 crore. She also took out a personal loan of Rs 3.40 lakh.
Police said that many transactions were conducted using Insta Kiosk installations and various digital banking platforms, with at least four customers' debit cards used for ATM and internet banking.
Proceeds from these activities were sent to demat accounts as part of the attempted cover-up.
Gupta was arrested from her parental home in Chittorgarh district's Rawatbhata.
She was sent to judicial custody after a one-day remand for interrogation, SI Ibrahim said.
Meanwhile, an ICICI Bank spokesperson, in a press note, said, "The interests of our customers are of paramount importance to us. Immediately upon discovering the fraudulent activity, we filed an FIR with the police.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy against any fraudulent activity and thus suspended the employee involved. We would like to reassure that genuine claims of impacted customers have been settled."
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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
