What Actions is Tripura Government Taking to Investigate the Illegal Withdrawal of Rs 16.38 Crore from AMC?

Agartala, Sep 11 (NationPress) The government of Tripura has established a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the illegal withdrawal of Rs 16.38 crore from the Agartala Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) bank account via cloned cheques, officials reported on Thursday.

A senior official indicated that the team will be led by the Additional Superintendent of Police (Urban) from West Tripura district, who is expected to compile a report for the Superintendent of Police of the district, Namit Pathak.

The SIT comprises Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Deba Prasad Roy; Inspector Rana Chatterjee, the Officer-in-Charge of West Agartala Police Station; and investigation officer Sub-Inspector Ranjit Das.

The Tripura Police initiated an inquiry against unidentified perpetrators for the illegal withdrawal from the AMC's bank account using counterfeit cheques after Sanjib Roy, the Zonal Manager of UCO Bank, filed a complaint at the West Agartala police station. The complaint emerged after it was discovered that Rs 16.38 crore had been withdrawn through six cloned cheques last week.

The mayor of AMC and BJP MLA Dipak Majumder asserted that no officials or employees are implicated in the fraudulent activities.

According to police sources, the initial investigation suggests that the fraudsters, operating from Hyderabad, forged the signature of a former AMC officer to withdraw funds while the original cheques remained with the civic body.

"Our investigation team discovered that the original cheques are still in the possession of the relevant AMC officers," the officer remarked, noting that they have also reviewed CCTV footage from UCO Bank's main branch at Kaman Chowmuhani to identify who submitted the forged cheques.

"Once we identify the individuals who presented the cloned cheques at UCO Bank, it will aid in tracing those involved in this case," he added.

An AMC representative mentioned that they have requested UCO Bank to restore the full Rs 16.38 crore to the civic body’s account, and the bank has consented.

A similar incident occurred a few years back, and in that case, the bank also returned the funds, he noted.

Last week, Tripura's Director General of Police Anurag stated that state police have identified online fraud cases amounting to Rs 46.96 crore since 2021, with authorities managing to recover Rs 5.2 crore and returning Rs 34 lakh to victims.

Regarding the remaining amount, the police are organizing a special initiative to recover the rest after conducting necessary verifications and checks within the next three months, he informed the media.

The DGP noted that police have also gathered information on 20,387 bank accounts linked to these cybercrime incidents in Tripura.