Dhubri UCO bank scam: Rs 34 lakh embezzled, Assam police arrest accused from Bihar

The Assam police arrested Shivshankar Prasad Bin, a UCO Bank employee from the South Salmara branch in Dhubri town, for allegedly embezzling Rs 34 lakh from the bank.

Bin, a resident of Dhubri, was arrested in the early hours of April 6 from Saidpur Rajauli village in Hajipur Block, Vaishali district of Bihar. The arrest took place around 4:30 am, and authorities recovered Rs 10 lakh in cash from his possession during the operation.

A team of Dhubri police, led by Investigating Officer (IO) and Sub-inspector Mehbub Ali, brought the accused to the Dhubri Sadar Police station on the morning of April 7, following the orders of Superintendent of Police Nabin Singh.

The alleged embezzlement came to light after the South Salmara branch manager, Chiradeep Paul, received complaints from two to three customers regarding discrepancies in their deposit balances. Subsequent internal investigation revealed that Bin had allegedly siphoned off approximately Rs 8 lakh deposited by customers without crediting the amounts to their accounts.

Further scrutiny uncovered a more significant misappropriation, with an estimated Rs 26 lakh missing from the bank's own reserves. This revelation has raised serious questions about the internal security measures and financial protocols in place at the South Salmara branch.

Following the discovery of the irregularities and the disappearance of Shivshankar Prasad Bin, Branch Manager Chiradeep Paul promptly filed a written complaint at the Dhubri Sadar police station, initiating the investigation that ultimately led to Bin's arrest in Bihar.

The police are currently conducting further investigations into the matter to ascertain the full extent of the embezzlement and to recover the remaining misappropriated funds. The arrest of the accused in a different state highlights the efforts being made by the Dhubri police to bring those responsible for financial crimes to justice.