Police file case in ’fund transfer case’ after minister intervenes

Police file case in ’fund transfer case’ after minister intervenes

Mangalore Today News Network

Oct 31, 2017: The minister for rural development and panchayat raj HK Patil’s intervention resulted in Mangaluru city police on Oct 30, Monday filing a case in connection with the unauthorised transfer of funds amounting to Rs 50 lakh from the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd (KRIDL) account. Incidentally, the manager of the Indian overseas Bank (IOB) branch at Navanidhi Complex, Kulai — the branch where the funds were transferred from — has gone missing. The bank branch falls under the purview of Surathkal police station.

Minister Patil had communicated to the RDPR department’s principal secretary to investigate the case. In an office note, Patil said that he had learnt that funds from two fixed deposits amounting to Rs 20 crore and Rs 35 crore at the IOB branch had been misappropriated. The funds were deposted at the bank on August 24 and 30 respectively. A fake account in the name of KRIDL was created in the same branch and money transferred from there to other accounts.

The incident came to light when officials of the Vijaya Bank, Koramagala branch came across an account under the name of Shah Exports that received deposit of Rs 50 lakh from KRIDL’s account and was non-operative for the past two-years. The discovery raised suspicions of a possible fradulent transaction, following which the minister directed the principal secretary to carry out a preliminary inquiry and submit a report on the incident before October 28.

City police commissioner TR Suresh said that a cheating case had been filed under Section 420 of the Indian penal Code at Surathkal police station, based on a complaint from KRIDL finance officer Veeragowda Patil. "The possibility of involvement of bank manager in the scam is rife given that the person is absconding," said a police officer privy to the investigation. "The manager’s possible link with Shah Exports in Bengaluru is also being proved since the funds were transferred to that account," he added.