The Master Con Star just opened a Fake Karnataka Bank Branch

          Aafaq Ahmed stumbled upon a great idea to draw attention to him, he went ahead and opened a fake bank branch of Karnataka Bank.

          It is a million dollar question as to why he was attracted to the choose Karnataka Bank brand.

          Karnataka Bank  is primarily a South Based Bank with a network of 781 branches spread across 22 states and 2 Union Territories.

          The nearest branch of Karnataka Bank to Balia is Varanasi which is 4 hours away.

          Aafaq Ahmed was running the fake bank branch for over a month and he had to shut it down when a man tipped of branch officials of Karnataka Bank in Delhi. The Delhi Branch officials initially refused to believe the presence of a fake bank branch and sought additional proof. The tipster sent photos of the fake branch through Whatsapp.

These photographs convinced BBH Upadhyaya, who is additional general manager (AGM) of the Karnataka Bank Ltd in Delhi, about this bold act. He immediately swung into action and alerted the police. BBH Upadhyaya accompanied by the Branch Manager of the nearest branch i.e Varanasi and a heavy police contingent landed on the door of the fake bank branch.

And, as Aafaq Ahmed could not produce any documents viz Reserve Bank of India Authorisation letter etc, the branch was shut down.

In about a month, the fake bank branch collected about Rs 1.37lacs and also employed 3 local persons to run the branch.

In the next few days, more details are likely to emerge on the thought process of Aafaq Ahmed.

Aafaq Ahmed invested quite a heavy amount to convince folks to deposit monies into his branch i.e stationery - including forms, pass books, three computers, laptop, furniture and other articles

          Aafaq went by the name Vinod Kumar Kambali, perhaps inspired by cricketer Vinod Kambli. Ahmed possessed a fake Aadhaar and other identities in the same name. His id said he was from Mumbai West.

The branch was run from the house of an ex-army man in Mulayam Nagar. According to reports, the house was rented for Rs 32,000 per month.

When police reached the branch, Ahmed was sitting inside his chamber while five other employees were found working on computers at different tables. In the presence of the police, Upadhyaya sought Ahmed’s appointment letter, RBI license and authorization documents of the bank’s headquarters. When he failed to produce the required documentation, the cops arrested him.

Other employees, who were locals and employed for a payment of Rs 5000 each, were spared after it was determined they had no knowledge of the scam. Their statements were recorded.

Aafaq Ahmed is yet  to pay the rent to the house owner. The payment against purchase of furniture had also not been made by him.

In a month, the fake branch could open 15 savings accounts with a minimum balance of Rs 1000 was required to open an account. In addition, locals were also duped into opening fixed deposits, ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 70,000.

          This is the power of Indian Jugaad