PUDUCHERRY: In a major cyber heist, a gang allegedly siphoned off Rs 8.84 crore from the bank account of the government-run Mahatma Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Dental Sciences, wiping out funds meant for the pending salaries of over 200 employees.
The college, located at Gorimedu here, maintains its account with a private bank near Indira Gandhi Square. With employees awaiting salaries for three months, the Directorate of Accounts and Treasuries (DAT) had transferred Rs 8 crore as grant in aid from the government treasury to the college’s bank account around 8 pm on Tuesday, taking the account balance to Rs 8.84 crore. By 9 pm, the entire amount had allegedly been siphoned off through a cyberattack.
The fraud came to light the next day when college authorities attempted to credit employees’ salaries and found the account balance nil. After enquiries with the DAT and the bank, Dean Kennedy Babu lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police around 10 am on November 4. The police contacted the bank’s head office and froze Rs 1.52 crore, Cyber Crime Inspector V Keerthivarman said.
A case was registered, and two rooms linked to account operations in the college’s administrative wing were sealed.
Investigations revealed that the stolen funds had been transferred to accounts in Chennai, Coimbatore and Kolkata. On the directions of SSP (crime and intelligence) Raghav and SP (cyber crime) Anurag Chopra, special teams were despatched to the three cities to trace the money and apprehend the accused.
Officials at Lok Niwas alerted L-G K Kailashnathan, who summoned Inspector Keerthivarman and the bank authorities to review the fraud and discuss measures to ensure that employees received their pending salaries before Deepavali.
