Man clones cheque, sign of businessman; arrested

In a first, a man not only was able to clone the bank cheque of a businessman, but also to get an amount of Rs 4.85 lakh cleared with the counterfeit leaflet that was issued in his name.

However, his spot of mastery did not last long, as he was arrested as soon as he reached the bank to collect the money that had been transferred to his account.

The Sahar police arrested the counterfeiter Shrikrishna Jonivithulla, an employee at a private firm, on Tuesday and is now investigating if he is a repeat offender.

According to the police, Kalpes Dodia, resident of Marol, received a message from the bank informing him that a payment request of Rs 4.85 lakh had been made through his cheque to a bank account in Nallasopara. Having not issued a cheque recently, Mr Dodia immediately alerted the bank and the police.

The police then registered a complaint under sectio section 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of IPC

On Tuesday, when Jonivithulla went to the bank in Nallasopara to withdraw the amount from his account, the police nabbed him.

Explaining how Jonivithulla managed to pull off the cozenage, the police said he had managed to print a cheque leaflet of Union Bank of India.

The cheque number and account number on the leaflet belonged to Dodia, said the police. However, Mr Dodia and Jonivithulla had not met or know each other.

“The accused randomly forged the cheque with Dodia’s account details on it,” said a police official.

Later, Jonivithulla faked Mr Dodia’s signature on the cheque. The police said it was still investigating how Jonivithulla managed to forge Mr Dodia’s signature, as he had not met him or seen him.

Later, Jonivithulla submitted the cheque to the bank, which not only cleared the cheque, but also transferred an amount of Rs 4.85 lakh to the counterfeiter’s bank account also with the Union Bank of India at the Nallasopara branch.

Mr Dodia raised an alarm with the bank as soon as he got an SMS alert about the money that was debited from his account. He then approached the police, who after registering his complaint, laid a trap at the Union Bank of India, Nallasopara branch, and arrested the accused who had come to withdraw the money.