Bhubaneswar, April 29 (Representative) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Crime Branch has arrested a fraudster from a Balghat village in Madhya Pradesh in a cheque cloning case involving Rs. 9.6 crore. The fraudster, identified as Pomesh Tembhare, was arrested on April 26 under sections 419/420/467/468/471/120-B IPC and produced before the Court of CJM, Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. He was then brought to Bhubaneswar on the strength of a transit remand and was produced before the Court of PO, Designated Court under OPID Act, Balasore, on Monday. The case was registered based on the allegation of Sujata Kanungo, Chief Manager of Bank of India, Baripada, that illegal transactions of Rs. 9,56,76,600 had been made from the account of District Mineral Foundation Trust of Zilla Parishad, Mayurbhanj, maintained with Bank of India, Baripada Branch, by producing four cheques on April 10 and 18 last. During the investigation, it was found that the savings account of Zilla Parishad, Mayurbhanj, is being maintained with Bank of India, Baripada Branch, in the name of District Mineral Foundation Trust.
The fraudsters managed to transfer a total of Rs. 9,56,76,600 to two different accounts in the name of PT Constructions & Supplier, maintained with Bank of Maharashtra, and S K Enterprises, maintained with Punjab & Sind Bank. Subsequently, during the investigation, the amounts were found to be further diverted/transferred to many other accounts from the accounts of PT Constructions & Supplier and S K Enterprises. Out of the illegally transferred amount, Rs. 5,04,06,900 was blocked, while Rs. 13,56,948 lying in 33 accounts have been frozen. Pomesh Tembhare was found to be the owner/signatory authority of PT Constructions & Suppliers, to which more than Rs. 2.68 crore was illegally transferred. After the incident, Pomesh was hiding himself, keeping his mobile phone switched off in a Naxal-infested village. The EOW team, with the help of local police and CAPF, arrested the accused, whose firm PT Constructions & Suppliers is functioning in Raipur.
However, the firm is a sham and was created only for fraud. This accused is a member of a larger gang with a complex network in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. The EOW has obtained important clues about the entire gang, which has been operating for at least 4 years. They have been using well-planned and meticulous methods, from cheque cloning to multi-layering of money transfers, creation and operation of multiple mule bank accounts, withdrawal of money, information network, and local touts. During the investigation, many incriminating clues have been seized, and they are under investigation to reach out to the other fraudsters, including the boss of this gang, EOW sources said.