LUCKNOW: A case of alleged misappropriation of nearly Rs 35 crore from various accounts at a Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Aichhar village of Greater Noida has come to light, with customers finding zero balances in their savings and fixed deposit (FD) accounts.
According to sources, customers who had Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in their savings accounts are now left with just Rs 16,000. Money has also gone missing from the accounts of people who received Rs 1 crore and Rs 29,000 as government compensation. Around 18 people who visited the bank with similar complaints have approached the police.
Following the customers’ complaints, an FIR has been registered at Beta-2 police station. Moreover, after the matter came to light, authorities at PNB’s regional office in Sector 1, Noida, suspended five employees, including the bank manager.
New staff have been appointed in their place. Bank officials have assured customers that their money will be credited back to their accounts by Thursday.
However, it is still unclear whether the money was stolen from the bank, went missing due to an error, or was siphoned off through a digital heist. The bank has not issued any official statement on the matter so far.
Informed sources said an investigation was underway into alleged negligence and irregularities by bank employees. The anti-corruption team is also probing the case.
The case came to light when a person named Vineet Bhati, a transporter living in Aichhar village, visited the PNB branch in Sector Pi-1 on Tuesday. He runs a firm called Jai Shiv Transport and holds a current account with the bank.
Sources said Bhati approached bank employees to invest in mutual funds. On the branch manager’s instructions, he signed a cheque and the relevant brochures. However, instead of transferring the investment amount to his savings account, the money was sent to another account. Although the account was reportedly in Vineet Bhati’s name, it did not actually belong to him.
On Tuesday, he submitted a complaint at Beta-2 police station, demanding an investigation and asking the bank to return his Rs 25 lakh.
Meanwhile, five to six account holders present at the bank began creating a commotion, bringing the matter to light. Sources cited the case of Brijesh, whose mother’s land had been acquired for the Noida airport project. Around Rs 1.29 crore had been credited to his account as compensation.
The family had withdrawn only Rs 15 lakh from this amount. Now, more than Rs 1 crore is missing from the account, and the balance has reportedly fallen to zero.
Similarly, another customer, an elderly man, claimed to have Rs 17.5 lakh in his account. The bank had not allowed him to make a single transaction for the past two years. He claimed he had been badly cheated. He said bank officials would sometimes close his account, sometimes claim that his PAN card was defective, and at other times ask him to complete Aadhaar KYC.
He said that when he visited the bank on Tuesday, he had Rs 17.5 lakh in his account, but the manager showed him a zero balance.
Money has reportedly been misappropriated from fixed deposit accounts as well. Several account holders in Biraundi Chakrasenpur and nearby areas have faced similar fraud.
Police sources said that 16 people had filed complaints related to the bank so far. Five employees, including the bank manager, were suspended in connection with the case. Bank representatives had assured account holders that their money would be returned.