Nearly three months after it sponsored a para-badminton tournament in Bengaluru, allegedly at the behest of the Chief Secretary (CS) of Karnataka, a nationalised bank realised that it was a victim of fraud.
The Upparpet police are now on the lookout for a conman, who allegedly posed as the State Chief Secretary and directed the bank manager to authorise a sponsorship fund for the tournament that was held in the city in January 2019.
The bank manager, who granted the sponsorship of ₹28,000, later cross-checked with the authorities and learned that no call had been made by the Chief Secretary. Taking note of this breach of security, Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar filed a police complaint on April 3. In his complaint, Mr. Bhaskar said a man identified as Jayadeeban had approached the zonal manager of the Bank of India branch on K.G. road on January 14 with a written order from him. It was under the letterhead of the Secretary General, Badminton Sports Association Of India. While the bank manager was examining the letter, he received a call from a man, who identified himself as Mr. Bhaskar, asking him to do the needful. After receiving these instructions, the bank completed the formalities and granted the sponsorship amount.
The cheating came to light when bank officials recently cross-checked the amount with the Chief Secretary’s office. The police have registered an FIR against Jayadeeban and his associate, who have been charged with forgery and cheating.