Bengaluru: Manager steals Rs 1 crore bank money

Bengaluru: Three persons, including a branch manager working with a nationalised bank, have been arrested by the Bengaluru Police for defrauding the bank of Rs 1 crore.

Branch manager Arun fell in a 'money doubling trap' laid by two racketeers Imtiyaz and Basavaraj, who persuaded him to withdraw Rs 1 crore original currency notes from the bank and said they could be replaced with fake currency notes.

According to the police, the accused were identified as Arun (the bank manager), and Imtiyaz and Basavaraj (both of whom worked as bank loan agents).

The police said Arun came in contact with Imtiyaz, who reportedly persuaded him to play a 'big game' to become rich instantaneously.

"As per this conversation, Arun fell into the trap and withdrew Rs 1 crore from his bank branch and handed it over to the bank agent duo," the police added. The police said when the two did not return after taking the money and due to shortage of cash by the end of banking hours, Arun realised that he had been duped.

He then hatched another conspiracy by telling his superiors that while carrying Rs 1 crore in cash, he was robbed by a gang. "However, his superiors smelt a rat and the bank immediately filed a complaint and hinted that their manager could be involved in the theft.

Based on this, we started questioning him about his call records and other technical data that forced him to 'speak the truth' and he confessed that he had fallen into the "money doubling" trap," the police said.

As part of their investigation, the police asked Arun to accompany them to show the place where he was robbed of the money. When they reached the spot they found that despite being an isolated place, a few shops and apartments nearby had installed CCTV cameras which Arun was unaware of.

"There was no evidence of robbery on that stretch. Besides Arun's mobile location showed that at that time he was in the branch and he was frenetically calling someone. Initially he said that he had left his mobile in the bank himself," the police added.

The police has registered a case and is investigating the matter further.