The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Chheda Lal Anuragi, a former bank officer and branch manager at Indian Bank, Holipura, for orchestrating a Rs27 lakh fraud involving fake bank accounts.
The case dates back to 2006 when Anuragi served as a retail banking officer at Allahabad Bank’s Atarra branch in Banda. Alongside bank staff and other accomplices, he opened multiple fraudulent accounts using forged documents and IDs at Allahabad Bank, Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, and Bank of Baroda.
Using these fake accounts, chequebooks were issued, and large-value account payee cheques were deposited at Allahabad Bank’s Atarra branch. Couriers reportedly cleared these cheques despite the original accounts holding only minimal balances, sometimes as low as Rs1,000 to Rs2,000. This enabled the illegal withdrawal of about Rs27 lakh, causing substantial losses to the bank.
The bank’s then-manager, KP Dinkar, lodged an FIR on April 7, 2006, naming six accused. The case was transferred to the EOW on August 20, 2015, after which the investigation identified 11 accused, including six bank employees and five private individuals. The private accused have already been arrested.
Anuragi was apprehended on July 14, 2025, during a special operation ordered by EOW Director General Neera Rawat, marking a significant breakthrough in the long-standing case.
