Court denies bail to bank cashier for Rs 70 lakh fraud

Ghaziabad: A sessions court on Monday refused bail to a customer service associate-cum-cashier at the Patla branch of Punjab and Sind Bank, accused of embezzling Rs 67 lakh from customers' accounts to another account linked to his mobile number.The branch manager of the bank, Himanshu Gupta, on July 4, 2025, noticed that Rs 2.5 lakh had been withdrawn from the accounts of two of his customers – Omkar and Ranbiri – through RTGS and deposited in an account belonging to one Tanushikha Bharti. When Gupta inquired, both customers said they had never visited the branch and transferred any amount. Upon enquiry, Gupta found that Tanushikha Bharti's bank account was linked with the mobile number of a customer service associate- cum-cashier at his branch, Somil Tiwary.
An FIR for criminal breach of trust and fund embezzlement was registered at Niwari police station against Tiwari on Nov 21 last year. A preliminary investigation showed he had withdrawn Rs 67 lakh from the accounts of various customers. In court, the prosecution said Tiwary had opened a fake account in the name of Tanushikha Bharti and transferred the amount fraudulently. "The investigating officer, Shivi Agarwal, recorded statements from bank customers and found that money was withdrawn from the accounts of eight customers," the prosecution counsel told the court, adding that a detailed internal investigation was underway by the bank. Tiwary's services had been suspended by the regional manager, Noida, on Oct 18. "The involvement of other unknown individuals or officials cannot be ruled out," he said, underlining the importance of Tiwary being kept in judicial custody.Tiwary's counsel said his client is innocent and has been falsely implicated. "There is no independent witness against him. He was not apprehended at the alleged scene of the incident, nor was he involved in the incident in question. He belongs to a respectable family and has no prior criminal history yet has been in jail since Dec 13," he said.Judge Vinod Singh Rawat noted the transactions from the fake account had been linked to a particular mobile number, which belonged to Tiwary. "The mobile number listed on the account opening form is different, while the number used for transactions is that of the accused. This is a serious case of fraud," he said while denying him bail.