Now Reading: Bank manager arrested for forging collector’s signature in Suryapet
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Bank manager arrested for forging collector’s signature in Suryapet
A private bank manager in Suryapet has been arrested for allegedly forging the signature of district collector Tejas Nandlal Pawar on documents related to the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) account. Koduru Raghu, branch manager of the private bank, is accused of forging the collector's signature to update the account's authorised signatory list after the transfer of a previous official.
The fraud came to light on August 14 when DMFT section accountant K Gopi Reddy spotted irregularities in the signature and alerted authorities. The collector filed a complaint after personally verifying the documents confirmed the forgery. Police said Raghu had approached collectorate staff asking them to affix the official seal on the documents, falsely claiming the signature was genuine.
Chivemula police registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita including cheating and forgery. The accused was arrested and remanded in judicial custody on August 16. Police said the exact purpose of the forgery is yet to be determined and they will seek police remand of the accused to investigate further.
Indian Opinion Analysis
District Mineral Foundation Trusts hold crores in mining royalties for local development, making their bank mandates a frequent target for fraud. In Telangana, collectors and DRDOs are joint signatories precisely to prevent unauthorised movements. The arrest of a private bank manager rather than a government official is unusual, most DMFT forgery cases involve collusion inside the collectorate, not external staff. Police custody will likely focus on whether Raghu acted alone or on instructions from someone who needed the account changed without the collector's knowledge. Watch for the bank's internal audit report, which may reveal how many other mandate updates Raghu processed without proper verification.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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