Cyber criminals allegedly siphoned off ₹3.92 lakh from the account of the Solapur District Mining Office and attempted to withdraw an additional ₹8.55 lakh through fake cheques, prompting a police investigation into the suspected fraud.
A case has been registered at the Faujdar Chavdi police station following the incident, which officials said involved unauthorised transactions from the government office’s account.
Suspicious Payment Alert Triggers Discovery
District Mining Officer Nilima Jadhav was in her office when she received a message indicating that payments of ₹3.92 lakh to Nikhil Kumar and ₹8.55 lakh to Satvik Chatterjee were being processed.
After receiving the alert, she immediately contacted Amarnath Bhinge, a senior clerk in the office, and rushed to the treasury branch of the State Bank. According to Bhinge, no cheque had been issued to either individual.
Further verification revealed that ₹3.92 lakh had already been transferred to an Axis Bank account belonging to Nikhil Kumar at the Rajabazar branch in Patna, Bihar.
Fake Cheque Allegedly Used in Fraud Attempt
Officials found that an attempt had also been made to withdraw ₹8.55 lakh by issuing another allegedly fake cheque in the name of Chatterjee.
The attempted withdrawal of the second amount was unsuccessful, preventing a larger financial loss to the District Mining Office. Authorities suspect that fake cheques were used as part of the scheme to access funds from the government account.
The incident has raised concerns over the misuse of banking instruments to target public offices and government funds.
Police Register Case, Bank Account Sealed
Following the discovery of the transactions, Nikhil Kumar’s Axis Bank account was sealed. Officials said the account still contained a balance.
A complaint was subsequently lodged by Amarnath Swaminath Bhinge, leading to the registration of a case against Nikhil Kumar and Chatterjee at Faujdar Chavdi police station.
Investigators are examining how the fraudulent cheques were generated and used. Authorities said the case has caused concern as cyber criminals allegedly attempted to withdraw money from the District Mining Office account through forged financial documents.
