Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jan 25: The Surat police have booked four people for allegedly swindling Rs 2.25 crore from the account of a Mangaluru-based doctor.

Based on a complaint by Axis Bank official Omkishan Patel, the police of Surat’s Sachin GIDC station booked Axis Bank employees Sandeep Dakhra and Savan Balda, the bank’s former employee Daval Bhikhadiya and another unidentified person whose image has been captured on the CCTV camera.

The fraud was carried out between January 8 and January 18 in three different parts of the country.

In their modus operandi, the accused changed Dr Sushil Deva Prasad Jathana’s account ownership in Mangaluru Axis branch, claiming he was dead. They then changed Jathana’s registered phone number and later transferred Rs 2.25 crore from his account.

Further investigation revealed that money was withdrawn from Jathana's account in Mangaluru and also Sirsa of Haryana.

Of the total transferred money, the bank managed to recover Rs 1.23 crore.

Deputy commissioner of police, zone II, Vidhi Chaudhary told the media that the people operating seem to be part of a major racket and there is a suspicion that bank officials are involved, who may have helped carry out the fraud without getting noticed.