Absconding ex-SBI cashier held for fraud

JAGATSINGHPUR: A former cashier of State Bank on India, who was on the run for the last five years after allegedly embezzling depositors’ money to the tune of Rs 62.25 lakh, was arrested by Naugaon police on Saturday.

Police sources informed the accused, Santosh Kumar Mallick, a resident of Sariabarpatana, worked as a cashier with the SBI Naugaon branch from 2015 to 2018 when he allegedly misappropriated Rs 62.25 lakh including Rs 41.95 lakh from 51 depositors through core banking system and Rs 19.30 lakh from another 19 people through fraudulent fixed deposits.

The matter came to light when one Krushna Chandra Mohanty, who had deposited Rs 4.5 lakh in an FD in 2018, verified his account in 2019 and found there was no money in it. Later, he found the FD documents provided to him were forged. Mohanty sought the intervention of SBI branch manager Nagendra Kumar Bhol, who conducted an inquiry and found funds misappropriated. He lodged an FIR at Naugaon police station. However, Mallick fled his village to evade arrest.