Powered by
Sponsored by

Bihar man claims money erroneously remitted into his account was gift from Modi; faces prison

The amount, Rs 5.50 lakh, was transferred by Gramin Bank because of an oversight

jail-arrested-arrest-prison-crime-police-lock-up-police-station-shut

A resident of this north Bihar district has ended up behind bars for refusing to return to bank more than Rs 5 five lakh erroneously remitted into his account and insisting it was a gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The man named Ranjit Das is a resident of Bakhtiyarpur village under Mansi police station of the district and the Gramin Bank concerned had recently transferred Rs 5.50 lakh into his account because of an oversight.

According to Mansi SHO Deepak Kumar, when the bank realised the mistake it asked Das to return the money who had by then withdrawn the amount.

"According to the complaint lodged by the bank officials, Das refused to return the money despite repeated notices. His contention was that the money was sent by PM Modi. An FIR was lodged on the basis of the complaint and the accused has been sent to jail after being booked under relevant IPC sections," said the officer on Wednesday.

In his election campaign in 2014 as the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, Modi had famously used the "Rs 15 lakh in every bank account" allegory to drive home the enormity of black money and the benefits of making an effort to bring back cash hoarded abroad.

However, after the BJP's ascent to power, the audacious claim weighed down heavily on his government, and Amit Shah, who was then the party chief, was at pains trying to explain it was an election “jumla” (rhetoric) which should not be taken literally.

Under the law, using up money transferred to one's account by a bank by mistake is a penal offence and financial institutions are at liberty to realise the amount from the offender.

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines