Fake SBI Branch Dupes Villagers, Employees Out of Lakhs
Fake SBI Branch Dupes Villagers, Employees Out of Lakhs
A fake State Bank of India branch was set up overnight in a Chhattisgarh village, swindling lakhs from job-seekers and villagers before being exposed.
In a shocking scam, a fake branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) was set up in the village of Chhapora, Chhattisgarh, duping both job-seekers and local villagers out of lakhs. The fraudulent branch, which appeared overnight in a rented commercial complex, was operational for 10 days before being exposed by police and real SBI officials.
Pintu Dhurve, a 25-year-old who had been promised a cashier’s position with a salary of Rs 20,000-30,000, diligently reported to the fake branch, unaware that he, along with five other new employees, had been scammed. The branch, which featured new furniture, official-looking documents and functioning bank counters, appeared legitimate to both employees and villagers alike.
The scam came to light when the manager of the nearby Dabra branch raised suspicions about the new “SBI” branch. On September 27, real bank officials and police arrived at the site to interrogate the staff and discovered that the entire setup, including the job appointments, was fake.
The scam was meticulously planned, with the fraudsters handing out fake offer letters for various positions, including managers, marketing officers and computer operators. Each of the six hired employees had paid between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 6 lakh for their jobs, believing they had secured lucrative positions at the country’s largest bank.
The mastermind behind the scam, along with accomplices such as Rekha Sahu and Mandir Das, even provided training to the recruits. The rented complex where the fake branch was set up belonged to a local resident, Tosh Chandra and had been leased for Rs 7,000 per month. Police suspect Pankaj, one of the key culprits, may have had prior experience in banking, either as a former employee or with insider knowledge.
Though no villagers were financially targeted, the scam left the victims out of Rs 12 lakh collectively. The police are now on the lookout for Pankaj and his associates, but no arrests have been made as of yet. The fraud highlights the lengths to which scammers will go, targeting vulnerable, unemployed individuals across multiple districts in Chhattisgarh.
