LUCKNOW: The State Bank of India has credited Rs 6 lakh to the account of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in lieu of the amount that was swindled off from the trust’s bank account through two cloned cheques earlier this month.
The trust operates two bank accounts from SBI’s main branch in Naya Ghat in Ayodhya.
As per the tweet from the trust’s official twitter handle @ShriRamTeerth, the amount was duly returned to the trust’s account by SBI. “The amount of 6 lakh rupees, which was fraudulently transferred from the bank account of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra using fake cheques & signatures, has been duly returned to the trust’s account by SBI. Our gratitude to SBI management for their swift action.”
The general secretary of the trust Champat Rai also confirmed the return of money, SBI’s regional manager Priyanshu Sharma said that the bank returned the money to the trust to make sure that the bank customers maintained faith in it. “Police investigation is going on and, soon, the money (that was) fraudulently withdrawn will be recovered,” said Sharma.
On September 1, a fraudster had transferred Rs 2.5 lakh and on September 8 another Rs 3.5 lakh from the trust’s bank account at SBI, Ayodhya, through two cloned cheques and forged signatures into an account at Punjab National Bank, Lucknow.
The fraud came to light when Rai received a verification call from the SBI management regarding another cheque worth Rs 9.86 lakh on September 9 apparently issued by the trust. Rai, who was in Ayodhya, verified that the cheque, with the number quoted by the bank, was still in the trust’s chequebook. By then, two other cloned cheques had already been used taking the trust and the bank for a ride.