Cons who tricked bank manager held

GHAZIABAD: The curious case of a bank manager transferring nearly Rs 10 lakh from a customer’s account after a few phone conversations with an impersonator was cracked on Friday with the arrest of three men who orchestrated the fraud.
The manager of SBI’s Navyug Market branch had transferred Rs 9.85 lakh from the account of Sudhanshu Wasson, who runs a car showroom, on December 29 last year.Police said the manager believed he had spoken to Wasson and allowed the request for an emergency transfer in good faith. But the caller was an impersonator, who had tracked Wasson and procured his bank account details.
The real Wasson had left a cheque with the manager. The impersonator knew that as well and requested the manager to initiate the transfer through that cheque. Police were still investigating how the gang managed to gather so much information on Wasson. Investigators said the impersonator had spoken to the manager as Wasson on December 27 as well as a precursor to his December 29 request. The manager was apparently convinced it was Wasson he was speaking to. Still, it raises questions about how far bank staffers can go to oblige a customer, even in a genuine case, especially if it involves bending certain rules.
After a nearly week-long probe, it was CCTV footage of R K Jewellers in Noida that led police to the culprits. The conmen had bought jewellery from there and got money transferred to the store’s account from Wasson’s. Police said they nabbed the trio from the trijunction near Hindon IAF station on Thursday night. The three, they claimed, were in an SUV.
Virender Shahu (32) is from Rudrapur while Arun Jadon (27) and Ajab Nagar (28) live in Loni. “The mastermind, Shahu, is a former employee of ICICI bank. The two others have postgraduate degrees,” said the SHO of Kotwali police station.
Two gold chains, two pairs of gold earrings, a pendant, a diamond ring and Rs 50,000 in cash was found on them. They were using a Mahindra XUV, which was also seized. “Nearly 90% of the gold has been recovered,” said SP (city) Salmantaj Patil.
Police believe Shahu is the mastermind and coaxed the other two into the conspiracy. Shahu, an officer claimed, is a repeat offender and has executed frauds before.
The fraud came to light when Wasson received an SMS on the transfer of funds. He alerted the bank and police. On Friday, Wasson said the money had been put back in his account by the bank. “The bank authorities cooperated with me and gave me back the entire amount on January 4. I am thankful to the police for their efforts as well," Wasson, owner of Hindon Automobiles, told TOI.
An FIR was filed against Shahu, Jadon and Nagar under sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. They have been sent to judicial custody.