08 October,2016 03:33 PM IST | | Anurag Kamble
While accused is still at large, he wouldn't be able to withdraw money from the fake account he made under the techie's name as it has been frozen
Mumbai techie's Rs 7 lakh in limbo after impostor steals DD from ATM
Rahul Dedhia received the DD on September 9. Pic/Nimesh Dave
Rahul Dedhia, a Bandra-based IT professional is hunting for his impostor, who stole Rs 7.36 lakh from his Demand Draft (DD), by opening a bank account under the techie's name. While Dedhia still doesn't have the money in his account, he has saved it from getting withdrawn by registering a police complaint. The fake account has been frozen.
Dedhia received the DD from HDFC bank on September 9 by courier. Since he had an early morning flight the next day, he wrote down his account and mobile number behind the DD and dropped it in a Yes Bank drop box at Pali Naka, Bandra West. When he enquired about the time required for the DD to get cleared, he was told that it would take at least three to four days.
Already credited
After six days, on September 15, the amount was still not credited to his account. So, he called Yes Bank asking for a reason behind the same. The bank officials told him that there was a theft in the Pali Naka ATM on September 11 and that a thief must have stolen his DD. A worried Rahul immediately contacted HDFC Bank, requesting for the release of money, but bank officials told him that the DD has already been credited to his account in Dena Bank's Santacruz branch. This information puzzled Dedhia, since he does not have any account in the said bank. Sensing foul play, he rushed to Bandra police station and registered a complaint.
No help from banks
"He also refused to accept any letter from me", Dedhia told mid-day. However, the manager relented later and spoke to him. "He was so rude and said it was not his concern what happened. I requested him again to tell me the process to get details but he asked me to leave the branch else he would call security," said Dedhia. mid-day tried to get in touch with Dena Bank several times, but the attempts proved futile.
Rahul's bad experience continued with Yes Bank too, "Yes Bank asked me to sign an indemnity bond, saying the DD was misplaced. How can they say it was misplaced when the DD was stolen?" said Rahul, adding, "If the security of the bank was in place, I would not have to face all this."
Yes Bank says
Meanwhile, Yes Bank had already registered a complaint of theft in the Bandra police station, in which only Rahul's DD was stolen. "Yes Bank is providing full assistance to the police authorities in their ongoing investigation," said a Yes Bank spokesperson.
When Rahul contacted Dena Bank and questioned how an account was opened under his name by producing fake documents the branch manager first declined to speak to him.
Cops get CCTV footage
On September 20, Dedhia visited the Bandra police station to register a case under Section 380 (theft), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 471 (using a genuine document as forged). The account in which the money was deposited has been frozen. "We have received CCTV footage from the ATM from where DD was stolen. We are working on it," said told police officer.
