Fraudsters allegedly tried to walk away with Rs 112 crore from the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) using forged cheques submitted at banks across the country. At least three attempts to siphon off several crore rupees using forged cheques came to light after Revenue Department officials in Andhra filed a formal complaint with the Guntur police on Sunday. A case has been registered against unidentified persons.
Investigation officials said that attempts were made to withdraw the money using forged cheques from three banks in Karnataka, Delhi and West Bengal. These cheques were submitted to the banks on September 18 and 19. Officials at these banks however reached out to the State Bank of India, Secretariat branch in Andhra Pradesh where the CMRF account is maintained. The bank officials wanted to cross verify the details on the cheque submitted to them. The bank officials in the Secretariat branch found that the cheques were fake and forged.
Officials matched the numbers of the cheques and found that the three cheques were approved earlier and issued by CMRF and the same number was used again by the accused.
Cheque number 694499, issued on November 8, 2019 for Rs 16,000 to Kolli Rattaiah was found to have been issued again for Rs 54.65 crore. The fake cheque was submitted at the Moodbidri SBI branch, near Mangalore in Karnataka on September 18. Cheque number 792896 dated June 29, 2020, for Rs 45,000 was issued to Konatham Hymavathi but the cheque bearing the same number was submitted at a bank in Delhi for Rs 39,85,95,540 on September 19. The third fake cheque was issued to Mallabpur People Rural Development Society, West Bengal for Rs 24.6 crore, but it was found that cheque number 792893 was already issued on June 19 this year for Rs 45,000 to Pathuri Ramya of Ibrahimpatnam.
The forged cheques also carried a fake signature of the Assistant Secretary, Revenue Department, (CMRF), AP Secretariat at Velagapudi. The official in question, P Murali Krishna Rao, on Sunday approached the Thulluru police with a formal complaint. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has called for a probe by the Crime Investigation Department (CID).
Speaking to TNM, Guntur Superintendent of Police, RN Ammi Reddy, said, "The case will probably be handed over to the CID as it spans several states. The investigation is ongoing."