Fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 6 lakh from a recently opened bank account of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust using fake cheques have raised the hackles of the UP Police brass.
After the scam surfaced, the Trust officials lodged an FIR at Kotwali police station in Ayodhya on Wednesday.
It was alleged that using a fake cheque, Rs 2.5 lakh was siphoned and later Rs 3.5 lakh was withdrawn using another fake cheque from a bank branch in Lucknow.
The investigation into the case was subsequently handed over to the Cyber Cell sleuths.
Confirming the rip off, Trust general secretary Champat Rai said that the fraudster deposited a third fake cheque for withdrawing Rs 9.86 lakh in Bank of Baroda (BOB) branch in Lucknow after which the manager called him for verification.
“Upon cross-checking, it came to light Rs 6 lakh had already been withdrawn using fake cheques. We then informed the police immediately,” he said.
Circle Officer at Ayodhya, Rajesh Kumar Rai, said that Rs 2.50 lakh was withdrawn against the first fake cheque on September 2 while Rs 3.50 lakh was withdrawn using the same modus operandi on September 3.
Earlier, in Meerut several people were caught while collecting donations in the name of Ram temple construction. Besides, a fake website seeking donations for the proposed Ram temple also came to light some days ago and the matter is being investigated.