Balasore: Police have began investigation into the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of cash from a nationalised bank here.

Kalakad villager Dipak Biswal on Thursday found that he had only Rs 180 left in his savings account when he visited the bank branch to withdraw money. Dipak found that Rs 1.17 lakh had been withdrawn from his account through several transactions without his knowledge.

Biswal lodged a complaint with the manager of United Bank of India (UBI) branch. He then began to inquire. The manager found that the money had been withdrawn by Dipak's cousin, Pritam Biswal, who happened to be business correspondent of the said bank. Pritam, by forging Dipak's signature, had withdrawn the amount in various phases using withdrawal forms. During the bank's internal investigation, it was found the signatures in the withdrawal forms were not tallying. After Dipak raised hue and cry on the bank premises, other customers present during the business hours also expressed their concern about safety of their deposits, alleging the banking employees' connivance in the fraudulent withdrawal.

The police reached the bank after hearing about the incident. Pritam was brought to the bank where he confessed to the crime. Following intervention of the branch manager, Pritam agreed to give Rs 50,000 by Saturday and the rest amount by April 10.

The officer in charge of local police station Gopal Singh said: "Neither the customer, Dipak, nor the bank has lodged any complaint with us. Action will be taken after receipt of compliant."