Mullanpur bank fraud: Evading arrest for 10 days after stealing crores from customers’ accounts, Gaurav Sharma, the manager of Axis Bank in Bansepur, Mullanpur, has been finally arrested.

On his trail for days after complaints from defrauded customers poured in, Mohali police caught the accused from near the Nepal border in Uttarakhand.

A local court has granted police five days to interrogate the manager regarding the funds stolen and his potential accomplices. The 35-year-old bank manager is facing a total of 67 complaints, alleging theft of more than ₹10 crore from customers’ accounts.

The bank manager, originally from Pathankot, reportedly embezzled approximately ₹1 crore in cash from the depositors in collaboration with the cashier. The branch’s cashier, 30-year-old Sujeet Kumar, arrested from the bank on February 15 for suspected complicity with the primary accused, stated during interrogation that the bank manager coerced him by threatening to provide a negative rating in the annual performance review if he refused to assist.

Bank officials told police that available cash in the branch was much lower than that reflected in cash entries. “Record of cash being deposited by customers was maintained in the register or online, but was much higher than the cash available at the branch. He took around ₹1 crore in cash in this manner,” said an investigator.

Responding to the complaint lodged by Vikas Sood, the interim branch head of the mentioned bank, the Mullanpur police had filed charges against both Kumar and Gaurav under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 381 (theft by a clerk or servant) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Mohali senior superintendent of police Sandeep Kumar Garg said the accused, currently residing in Ambika Florence Park, New Chandigarh, was apprehended near the Nepal border on Friday, assisted by a combination of technical and human intelligence.

As per police, the bank manager had recently purchased a Tata Safari and it was in this vehicle that he travelled to the Nepal border. While the police successfully recovered the vehicle, no cash was found. Furthermore, all bank accounts used by the manager for money transfers have been frozen.