Two Get 7-Year Jail Term For Rs 2.46 Crore ‘Cheque Cloning’ Bank Fraud In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A designated court under OPID Act in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday sentenced two persons – Sayed Shahbaaz Naqvi and Subas Ghisingh Giri – to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with Rs 2.46 crore bank fraud.

A fine of Rs 2.5 lakh each has also been imposed on them and in case of default, the duo has to spend additional 27 months in jail.

According to an EOW release, this is fastest conviction and the first in cheque cloning case. The case was registered on March 23, 2022, on the basis of an complaint lodged by Barbil Municipality, Keonjhar, executive officer  Abhisek Panda, alleging that Rs 2,45,60,800 was fraudulent and unauthorised transferred from their official account with Bank of Baroda, Barbil, using clone cheques and forged signature.

Investigation revealed that the amount was withdrawn from the official bank account of Barbil Municipality on March 16 and March 21 that year. They had committed the fraud by using clone cheque prepared by forging the bank cheques and the signature of the executive officer. While Rs.70,16,520 of the total amount was transferred to Naqvi’s account with Bank of India, Rs 25 lakh was found in the account of Giri with ICICI Bank. Giri was arrested from Barrackpore, West Bengal, on March 24, 2022, and Naqvi from Raipur in Chattisgarh, the following day.

Expert assistance from hand writing bureau and BSNL authorities and CCTV footage analysis were vital apart from other traditional approach during investigation of the case, the release further said.