3 accused employees suspended, case referred to CB
Nishikant Khajuria
Jammu, Mar 17: In a large-scale financial fraud, embezzlement has surfaced in the Jammu Central Cooperative (JCC) Bank Ltd where some employees posted at the Head Office siphoned off crores of rupees from depositors’ accounts in various branches through fraudulent digital transactions.
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Soon after detection of the fraud, three alleged accused employees of the bank have been placed under suspension while a formal complaint in this regard was also forwarded to the Crime Branch for further investigation and necessary action.
So far, embezzlement of approximately Rs 1.77 crores has been detected and this amount may reach even the higher figures as internal inquiry by the bank as well as preliminary investigation by the Crime Branch are going on.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the alleged fraud involved abuse of official access, manipulation of banking data and unauthorized NEFT/RTGS transfers from personal and savings bank accounts of customers to accounts of family members and relatives of the accused employees maintained in other banks. The transactions are stated to have been carried out by misusing positions of trust and diverting depositors’ funds through digital modes.
Sources said that the first major instances of the fraud came to light on January 17, 2026, when the Branch Head of Shastri Nagar Jammu reportedly pointed out serious irregularities. It was alleged that input and output records were altered and data files were manipulated by using unauthorized access or privileges beyond those required for assigned job functions.
“As the staff has to check each day’s transactions with the physical vouchers of the day, Branch head of Shastri Nagar found on 17th January, 2026 that one transaction was shown to have taken place on January 16, 26 but, physically there was no voucher regarding this transaction,” sources explained, adding that the transaction involved Rs 2.95 lakh.
The fraudulent transactions were found to be executed through the Head Office by some employees, who allegedly transferred funds to accounts linked to their own family members and relatives.
“The suspected employees posted at IT section of the head office were empowered to enable the users of the working employees at the branches. Taking benefit out of it, the IT employees at the head office were disabling the users at their own without the knowledge of the employees posted at branches, thereby siphoning off the funds,” sources elaborated.
The matter has assumed alarming dimensions as sources claim that the bank management has so far detected siphoning off around Rs 1.77 crores and the total embezzled amount could be much higher as the investigations are still going on.
Once a formal enquiry is initiated and all suspicious transactions are thoroughly examined, the embezzled amount may rise to anywhere between Rs 3 crore and Rs 5 crore, sources said.
Apart from the Gandhi Nagar Branch, fraud-related irregularities are also learnt to have surfaced in around 10 branches, including Sainik Colony, Talab Tillo, Bhadarwah and Gandoh branches.
Soon after the matter came into notice of the bank General Manager , two Banking Associates and officer of Assistant Manager rank were placed under suspension for their alleged involvement in the fraud. They were identified as Rohit Sharma, Bhupinder Singh and Amit Gupta.
While both the Banking Associates were directly involved in siphoning off the money with Rohti Sharma as the mastermind, the Assistant Manager was found to be an accused of alleged dereliction of duty, sources said.
As a formal complaint in this regard has been lodged with the Crime Branch, sources said that initial verification is going on and FIR is likely to be registered soon for further action.
The Bank management is also learnt to have apprised about the fraud to the regulatory authority Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the supervisor National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) through emails.
RBI’s fraud reporting circular requires banks to promptly report frauds and place such cases before the Board, while serious cases are to be reported in the prescribed FMR format within stipulated timelines, with parallel reporting to law-enforcement agencies in major cases.
The alleged scam has sparked concern over the safety of deposit money lying in the Jammu Central Cooperative Bank. As per estimates, the bank is presently holding deposits worth nearly Rs 1300 crore to Rs 1400 crore and any adverse administrative or regulatory action against the institution may place their savings at risk.
Pertinent to mention that the JCC bank is being run by a professional Board of Directors headed by the Administrative Secretary of the Cooperative Department and having a Managing Director from the senior JKAS cadre.
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