In a serious breach of trust within the President’s Estate, police have arrested Prakash Singh, an employee at the Estate, and his associate Sanjay Chakraborty for illegally siphoning off more than Rs20 lakh from a colleague and his spouse through unauthorised UPI transactions.
The complainant, a 59-year-old chief household assistant, discovered the fraud when updating his bank passbook. Shockingly, neither he nor his wife had ever used UPI apps or had any understanding of digital banking.
Initial investigation revealed that:
Over Rs16 lakh was transferred from the wife’s bank account to an account owned by Sanjay Chakraborty, a resident of Hathkola, Kolkata.
Another Rs6 lakh+ was moved to a second account also operated by Chakraborty.
Police arrested Chakraborty in Kolkata, where he confessed that he received the funds on behalf of Prakash Singh in return for a 2–3% commission. Using his statement and technical surveillance, authorities tracked down and arrested Singh at his residence in Brahmaputra Apartment within the Estate.
Police have registered a case under relevant sections of cheating and cybercrime, and further investigation is underway to determine if other employees or victims may be involved.
