Betul FD fraud: Mother of bank officer among 4 more held

Bhopal: Police in Betul have arrested four more people, among them the mother of a suspended Bank of Maharashtra assistant manager, in the case of unauthorised withdrawals from customers’ fixed deposits at the bank’s Morkha branch.The total number of accused has now gone up to seven, and the list of identified victims has grown from six to seven.The latest arrests include Sheela Gokhe, mother of suspended assistant manager Lukesh Gokhe, and Mithilesh Soni, Shailendra Soni and Mayank Soni, relatives of the 14-year-old boy arrested earlier in the case. The assistant manager, another bank employee Gaurav Suryavanshi and the minor were among the first three arrested.“Detailed probe is going on. After the initial three arrests, four more accused have been arrested. We had already registered six FIRs on complaints by six victims; one more victim has been added. The entire trail of the money is being traced and there could be more accused. What makes it clear till now is that money from FDs was withdrawn by changing mobile phone numbers. Funds were first diverted to the minor’s account and then to other accounts,” Bordehi police station in-charge B L Uike told TOI.Police said the alleged fraud involved changing customers’ registered mobile numbers to facilitate unauthorised transactions and withdrawals from fixed deposits. The money was allegedly routed through the minor’s account before being transferred to other accounts.Investigators are now tracing the complete money trail and examining the role of the newly arrested accused. Police suspect that more people could be involved in the fraud and are probing whether additional customers were affected.The alleged irregularities came to light after customers complained of unauthorised withdrawals and transfers from their accounts. The investigation, which began with six FIRs, has since expanded with the identification of another victim.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bhopal | Silver Rate in Bhopal | Bank Holidays in Bhopal | Public Holidays in Bhopal | Petrol Price in Bhopal | Diesel Price in Bhopal | CNG Price in Bhopal | LPG Price in BhopalStay updated with the latest Bhopal news. Download the TOI App.