Cheque fraud gang caught with Rs 1.09 cr at bank

Members of the fake cheque gang

Members of the fake cheque gang

A gang of three which allegedly defrauded a charitable trust of Rs 3.95 crore by creating fake cheques was caught in Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural district, when it tried to deposit a part of the ill-gotten money in a bank account on Friday.

Pareekshith Naidu, 30, Guruprasad, 32, and Rangaswamy, 35, all from Harihar, Davangere district, are accused of forging the cheques of Shri A V Dhammanagi Vision Foundation, an NGO from Bailhongal, Belagavi district.

They allegedly forged the signature of the NGO’s chairman and transferred Rs 3.95 crore to their own bank accounts in Harihar, Belagavi and Haveri.

On Thursday, a man named Harish deposited the cheques in an ICICI Bank account located in Ramamurthy Nagar. The suspects promptly withdrew the money. On Friday, around 4 pm, the gang drove to ICICI Bank, Nelamangala, carrying the cash in a gunny bag in a brand new car. The suspects told the bank manager they intended to deposit Rs 1.09 crore to a particular account but changed their mind later, saying they would deposit only Rs 30 lakh.

Manager grew suspicious

The bank manager grew suspicious and called the Nelamangala police. Investigators rushed to the bank and questioned the suspects about the source of the money.

Unable to give an explanation, the gang spilled the beans. They said they had allegedly hacked the NGO’s phone number that was linked to its official bank account. They then forged the cheques. When bank representatives called the NGO’s registered phone number before clearing the cheque, one of the suspects returned the call and gave the go-ahead.

Police suspect NGO insiders worked in cahoots with the
gang. The case has been transferred to the Ramamurthy Nagar police station.