Guwahati: The CID of Assam Police has submitted a chargesheet in the chief judicial magistrate’s court, Kamrup (Metro), against two accused for fraudulently siphoning off Rs 2.57 crore from the official account of AMTRON, a state government undertaking.
The two are accused of transferring the amount to a bank account of a firm in Tamil Nadu.
The CID had registered a case against Rahul Lochan Huzuri, assistant, finance and accounts department of AMTRON, and Shankar Anbalagan, owner of M/s SRS Raw Material Traders of Salem, Tamil Nadu.
The firm in Tamil Nadu incidentally did not have any business relations with AMTRON.
“The CID Assam swung into action and through the online helpline No. 155260, immediately froze Rs 121,61,372 in the receiver’s account at Salem Branch, Tamil Nadu, of ICICI Bank,” an official statement here said on Wednesday.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Huzuri, a contractual employee of AMTRON and sole operator of its official e-mail account, had emailed Bank of Maharashtra, Guwahati Branch, Panbazar, instructing the bank to transfer Rs 2,57,07,578 to a third party who had no business relation with AMTRON.
“The evidence collected from the AMTRON office reveals that Huzuri was solely in possession of the User ID and password of the said email account,” the chargesheet said.
The CID team searched various places in Tamil Nadu, including houses of the co-accused, and collected documentary evidence. Anbalagan, who was in receipt of the money transacted fraudulently, was also arrested.
“Several other bank accounts, which received money fraudulently, have been identified and frozen. Owing to continuous pressure and follow-up by the CID, a sum of Rs 213,89,498 could be recovered from various banks and the same has been re-credited into AMTRON’s account,” the statement said.
“Efforts are on to recover the remaining Rs 38 lakh which has been withdrawn in Tamil Nadu,” it said.
The recovery and immediate arrest of the accused was the result of swift action by the CID team which used latest cyber forensic tools in tracing the online transactions and emails.
“Further investigation to recover the remaining Rs 38 lakh and to arrest the other absconding accused in Tamil Nadu will continue,” it said.
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