Ahmedabad: A bank customer was allegedly cheated of Rs 56 lakh after an ECS mandate was registered in his name without his knowledge, leading to an unauthorised debit from his account at a private bank.According to a complaint lodged with Navrangpura police by a 40-year-old branch operations manager, the customer has maintained an account with the bank since 2001. On Aug 10, the customer informed bank officials that Rs 56 lakh had been withdrawn from his account without his knowledge or consent and denied authorising any such transaction.Following the complaint, bank officials checked the account and found that the amount had been debited through an ECS auto-debit transaction. The bank immediately alerted its head office and sought to place the transaction on hold.During an internal inquiry, officials allegedly discovered that an ECS mandate had been registered in the customer’s name at a branch of another private bank in Bihar on July 18. The mandate reportedly carried a daily transaction limit of Rs 80.5 lakh and was forwarded to the bank’s head office for processing on July 23.As the customer’s signature and other details appeared genuine, the mandate was cleared during the verification process. Subsequently, on Aug 10, a request for an ECS debit of Rs 56 lakh was submitted. Since the mandate had already been approved, the amount was automatically deducted from the customer’s account.The bank later cancelled the mandate after the customer denied having authorised it. The complaint alleges that the mandate was fraudulently created and used to withdraw money from the account without the customer’s knowledge. Navrangpura police have registered a case against the administrator of a fashion garment outlet and launched an investigation.
