Ludhiana, Punjab: The police have booked a female employee of State Bank of India in Ludhiana, Punjab for allegedly embezzling ₹37.78 lakh by manipulating bank accounts and carrying out unauthorised withdrawals. The employee (Amandeep Kaur) was working at State Bank of India’s Shingar Cinema Road branch and has been placed under suspension. She is a resident of Dugri.
A case was registered against the woman on the complaint of Kamaljit Singh, branch manager of the State Bank of India (SBI), Shingar Cinema Road branch.
According to the complaint, the employee had been working at the branch since May 15, 2023. She allegedly misused her official position to manipulate bank accounts and withdraw money through fraudulent transactions.
During internal scrutiny by the bank, it was found that the accused had allegedly withdrawn ₹37,78,707, causing a substantial financial loss to the bank. The matter first came to light on August 26, 2025, when the then branch manager Ravinder Singh was examining the bank’s General Ledger Day (GLD) book.
During the scrutiny, a suspicious cash withdrawal of ₹1.50 lakh dated August 25, 2025 was detected for which no supporting voucher or approval was found in the records. Following this, further scrutiny of the accounts was done, which revealed three more suspicious entries dated August 4, August 11 and August 19 in 2025.
The irregularities were immediately reported to the bank’s regional office for further action. During investigation, the accused reportedly admitted that she had withdrawn around ₹6 lakh without authorisation. She later deposited ₹4 lakh back into the account, while the remaining ₹2 lakh already lying in the account was put on hold.
As per reports, She also allegedly admitted to withdrawing nearly ₹18 lakh through multiple transactions for personal use. The bank’s internal investigation reportedly found that the accused debited money from Branch General Ledger (BGL) accounts, transferred it to a system suspense account and subsequently withdrew the cash.
The transactions were allegedly carried out without generating any bills or vouchers. Based on the findings, the police have registered a case under Sections 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC against the accused.
Authorities believe the case highlights the importance of strong internal monitoring systems in banks to prevent financial fraud. Banking experts say that regular audits, strict verification of transactions, and proper supervision of staff activities are essential to safeguard customer funds. Incidents like this also remind banks to strengthen their internal controls and digital tracking systems so that suspicious transactions can be detected quickly. Officials said the investigation is still ongoing, and further details may emerge as police continue to examine bank records and transaction data related to the case.
