Cheque forged by 'magic' pen, businessman duped

New Delhi: Whether technology is a boon or bane has always been debatable. But for businessman Kranti Srivastava it surely turned out to be a harrowing experience when a man posing as a bank representative forged his cheque by using a magical pen.

Srivastava, a resident of Indirapuram, recently got a call from an executive Rajat Sharma claiming to be from Standard Chartered Bank. The executive offered to open an overdraft account stating that it would make Srivastava's daily transactions easier. But that never happened.

"I thought it was routine call that one receives from banks citing their new policies or offers. I got a call from one Rajat Sharma from Standard Chartered Bank on my mobile. As I wanted to open an overdraft account, I agreed to his offer and called him home. He then asked for three months bank statement, photo identity card and telephone bill. And said that for an overdraft account I have to issue Rs 50 cheque in the name of the bank, which I approved of," explained Srivastava, an account holder of Bank of Baroda.

Srivastava didn't smell any foul play till then and settled for the entire procedure.

"While I was signing the cheque, I got a call on my cell and at the same moment the executive said that I can take the call and rest of the details he'll fill it for him. I checked the details of the cheque and the man had filled the amount Rs 50 and the bank name correctly," pointed Srivastava.

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But on June 17, Kranti got shocked when he found that Rs 41,500 was missing from his account. "I was simply flabbergasted when my account was short of Rs 41,500. I immediately contacted the bank and they told that someone had come with a cheque and withdrew the money from Bank of Baroda, Nehru Place branch. That executive had changed the amount by using a magic pen," said Srivastava.

The businessman tried tracing the executive and discovered that the man lied to him and misused the name of the bank. Even the mobile number (9718395267) from which the executive had called was switched off and it found out that the Idea number was taken recently. A case has been registered at the Kalkaji police station.

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"We have started investigating the case. It seems that the executive has used the magic ink pen to make the changes in the cheque. Recently, few similar cases have been reported in Delhi. We have contacted the bank and soon we will get the CCTV footage of the person who had come to encash the cheque," said a senior police officer.