In a shocking banking fraud case in Tripura, police are now investigating the theft of Rs 16.38 crore from the Agartala Municipal Corporation’s bank account. The money was illegally withdrawn through cloned cheques, officials confirmed on Friday.
The trouble started when UCO Bank’s Zonal Manager, Sanjib Roy, reported the case to West Agartala police. It was discovered that, between August and September, six fake cheques were used to siphon off the huge sum from the municipal corporation’s account.
According to police officials, the fraudsters operated from Hyderabad. They allegedly forged the signature of a former AMC officer to withdraw the funds, even though the original cheques were still with the civic body. The police are now examining CCTV footage from the bank’s main branch at Kaman Chowmuhani to find out who submitted the forged cheques.
The police believe that identifying those who submitted the fake cheques will be key to catching the culprits behind this scam. Meanwhile, the Agartala Municipal Corporation has asked UCO Bank to return the stolen Rs 16.38 crore, and the bank has agreed to do so. This isn’t the first time similar fraud has happened; in the past, the bank returned money stolen through such impersonation scams.
This incident comes shortly after Tripura’s police chief, Director General of Police Anurag, revealed that the state has recovered Rs 5.2 crore from online fraud cases since 2021. Police have identified over 20,000 bank accounts involved in cybercrimes across Tripura. They are working hard to recover the remaining stolen funds and plan to launch a special drive over the next three months to verify accounts and return more money to victims.
Authorities are also looking into recent cybercrime trends, warning residents to stay cautious and protect their bank details. As investigations continue, efforts are on to bring those responsible for this massive fraud to justice and prevent such incidents in the future.
