3 arrested for allegedly running a fake SBI bank branch

CHENNAI : Police have arrested three persons who were operating a fake State Bank of India (SBI) branch at Panruti in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district.

The son of a former SBI employee, Kamal Babu (19), through his contacts, had brought computers, lockers, challans and forged documents and other essentials. Police said they also created a website in the name of the Panruti Bazaar branch.

Kamal Babu along with A Kumar (42) and M Manikam (52) had opened a branch in April with the hope that they would not be caught between the lockdown.

However, when a SBI customer inquired with the existing branch manager in the town about the newly opened branch in the North Bazaar, the fake branch came to light.

After a customer showed him a receipt he had acquired from a duplicate branch, the manager and other officers visited the counterfeit branch and were surprised to find that it was similar to the original bank branch with all the necessary documents. They immediately lodged a complaint with the Panruti police and arrested the three and filed a case under Section 473, 469, 484, 109 of the Indian Penal Code.

“Babu was aware of all bank operations in his early years, so it was easy for him to open a duplicate branch. Babu’s parents were former SBI Bank employees. From an early age, he visited the bank and observed very closely how a branch operates. His father passed away a few years ago and his mother Babu had applied for his post after the retirement of his father.

“So far, we have not received any complaints that customers have lost money in this branch. When we inquired, there was a lot of transactions between his mother’s account and his aunt’s account, although Babu never intended to deceive people but wanted to open a bank for himself. An investigation is underway, ”the police explained.