Probe under way into opening of bank accounts by fraudsters in Kozhikode villagers’ names

The Kerala Police and a special squad of the Crime Branch from Madhya Pradesh are on the lookout for a gang of youths who reportedly worked as agents for an unknown private company to open bank accounts in the name of villagers in Kozhikode district and later facilitated the secret exchange of confidential banking records with the anonymous company operatives to carry out a financial fraud.

Four local youths, who reportedly played key roles in opening new bank accounts in Vadakara, Villiappally, and Kottappally areas, have been taken into custody by a special police squad from Madhya Pradesh for interrogation. According to police sources, a search is under way to trace a few more youths who reportedly operated for the company in other parts of the State.

It was a few confidential complaints related to the illegal transactions carried out using the newly opened bank accounts that prompted the Madhya Pradesh and Kerala Police to dig deep into the incident. The Crime Branch squad from Madhya Pradesh took up the case first as the company suspected behind the fraud was operating from Bhopal.

Also, there were many complaints about the leakage of confidential banking data of the newly enrolled customers in Bhopal. The first case registered in Bhopal was related to the illegal transaction of about ₹12 lakh through some of the newly created bank accounts.

A preliminary investigation earlier carried out by the Kozhikode Rural police had revealed that many youths took up the field-level job as a part-time affair for a one-time payment of ₹10,000. The payment was reportedly made after they exchanged the new bank account holders’ complete registration details and ATM cards with the anonymous agents behind the company. The majority of the field-level executives and account holders were reportedly college students.

Police sources said the investigation was in full swing with the support of hi-tech squads to expose the fraudsters behind the network. They also said the true intention behind opening bank accounts could be uncovered only after the arrest of some key suspects at large.