Ranchi: Fraudsters allegedly withdrew Rs 45,000 from the bank account of a Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) employee after swapping his debit card at an ATM in Kanke on Saturday.The victim, Lal Dhananjaya Shahdeo, an assistant at BAU, had withdrawn Rs 5,000 from the ATM before leaving for Kharagpur. As he was exiting the kiosk, a man told him that the transaction had not been completed properly and asked him to insert his card again.“I initially hesitated but followed his advice, thinking it would prevent inconvenience to other customers. During the process, one of the men standing nearby swapped my card with another card without my knowledge,” Shahdeo said.Unaware of the swap, Shahdeo proceeded to his office. Around 15 minutes later, he received an alert that Rs 20,000 had been withdrawn from his account. He immediately rushed to the bank’s branch to block the card. “By the time I reached the bank to lodge a complaint, another Rs 25,000 had been withdrawn,” he said.Shahdeo subsequently lodged a complaint with Kanke police, alleging the involvement of two persons, including an accomplice waiting outside the kiosk. He later claimed to have identified the suspects as residents of Bihar’s Gaya district and said he would submit a named complaint.Kanke police station officer in-charge Prakash Rajak said a case would be registered under relevant sections of BNS. Police are examining CCTV footage to identify and trace the suspects.
