Shopian, Aug 13: A series of fraudulent withdrawals from the bank accounts of elderly customers has sent shockwaves through the community in Turka Wangam village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district. The situation took a dire turn when the account of a deceased customer, Muhammad Yusuf Shah, was found empty, followed by another case of fraudulent withdrawal from the account of Abdul Ghani Lone, with Rs 177,000 missing.
The first case came to light when Zarifa, the daughter of the late Muhammad Yusuf Shah, discovered that all the money had been withdrawn from her father’s account, just a day after his death on January 14, 2019. The bank officials revealed that an accused, a resident of Turka Wangam, had withdrawn the funds. Zarifa filed a complaint with the police, leading to an investigation by Zainapura police station. The probe revealed that the accused had fraudulently withdrawn the entire amount.
Another case of fraudulent withdrawal surfaced when Abdul Ghani Lone, an elderly citizen, found Rs 177,000 missing from his account. His brother, Muhammad Yusuf Lone, expressed concern, stating that his brother rarely visits the bank and doesn’t own a mobile phone, making it impossible for him to receive SMS notifications about withdrawals.
The news sparked widespread outrage, leading to a large-scale protest outside the bank branch. Demonstrators demanded a thorough investigation, immediate arrest of the accused, and action against those responsible for withdrawing funds from senior citizens’ accounts. They also questioned the bank’s role in the fraud and appealed for a police investigation into all such cases.
Police have launched an investigation into the matter, and the arrest of the accused is expected shortly.
Despite repeated attempts, the concerned authorities didn’t respond to phone calls. [KNT]
