Residents of Barka Rajpur village in Tilak Rai ke Hata police station area were left stunned on Saturday after a local sweet-maker (halwai), Jitendra Sah, discovered that his Fino Bank account suddenly showed a balance exceeding ₹600 crore. What began as a routine withdrawal of ₹100 turned into a state-level mystery now being investigated by the police and cyber experts.
Ordinary man, extraordinary balance
Jitendra Sah, who makes sweets for a living, went to the village’s Customer Service Point (CSP) to withdraw ₹100 for daily expenses before heading to Simri market. When the operator updated his passbook, both were shocked to see a balance showing over ₹600 crore in his account.
Initially dismissing it as a printing or system error, the CSP operator rechecked the balance multiple times, only to find the same figure repeated. The discovery spread rapidly across the village, leaving locals astonished.
Account previously held only ₹478.20
Sah told reporters that before the incident, his account contained only ₹478.20. “I went to withdraw ₹100, but when the CSP operator checked, he said the account showed hundreds of crores. I couldn’t believe it at first,” he said, adding that he immediately informed the local police once he realised the situation was serious.
The news quickly reached the authorities, prompting Tilak Rai ke Hata Police Station to launch an inquiry.
Police suspect technical glitch or cyber fraud
Station House Officer (SHO) Pooja Kumari said the initial assessment suggests the case may involve a major technical glitch or a potential cyber fraud. Jitendra has been asked to visit the Cyber Police Station with his bank documents for verification.
“The bank’s technical team and cyber experts will determine how and why such a large amount was reflected in the account. We are also checking whether any criminal gang used the account for money laundering or illegal fund transfers,” the SHO said.
Bank and cyber teams begin parallel probe
The police have coordinated with Fino Bank officials, who have initiated an internal system audit to trace the origin of the transaction entry. Sources said that no official transfer record corresponding to ₹600 crore has been detected so far, increasing the likelihood of a system malfunction or software error.
Cybercrime experts, however, have not ruled out the possibility of data manipulation by an external entity. They are examining whether Sah’s account credentials were compromised through phishing or malware targeting rural CSP terminals.
Villagers stunned, authorities cautious
The incident has become the talk of the region, with crowds gathering outside the CSP and local police station. Many residents expressed disbelief that an ordinary worker could find such an astronomical sum in his account overnight.
Authorities, meanwhile, have urged the public to avoid speculation until the banking and cyber forensic reports are completed. Police have also warned that such incidents are sometimes linked to testing operations by fraud syndicates, who deposit large sums into unsuspecting citizens’ accounts to conceal illicit transactions.
Clarity expected after forensic audit
Officials said it would take a few days to confirm whether the incident was due to a back-end banking system glitch or a deliberate cyber intrusion. The matter is being handled jointly by the local police, cyber cell, and bank’s IT division.
“Nothing can be said definitively yet. We will act based on the findings of the cyber and banking investigation,” SHO Pooja Kumari said.
For now, the account has been frozen temporarily, and Sah has been advised not to conduct any transactions until the inquiry concludes.
