Kozhikode: The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has confirmed that a total of Rs 14.72 crore has been swindled from six of its accounts with the Punjab National Bank. A scrutiny was on till late on Thursday night to find whether more funds have been lost.
The Corporation confirmed on Thursday that Rs 10.50 crore from the Kudumbashree account had been stolen in addition to Rs 1.89 crore from the three accounts of MP-MLA fund, AMRUT office renovation fund, and non-biodegradable waste disposal fund.
With the latest findings the corporation has filed another complaint with the police.
The transactions of such huge amounts carried out without the Corporation’s knowledge were detected when the statements of different accounts were scrutinised.
The bank has returned to the civic body Rs 2.53 crore which was initially considered to have been lost.
Conman at large
M P Rijil, the manager of the Punjab National Bank’s Eranjipalam branch, who allegedly committed the fraud, has not been nabbed yet. The police said that he was in hiding and the search for him has been intensified. The police officials held a meeting chaired by the district police chief yesterday in this connection.
The police are also considering handing over the investigation to other agencies if it is found that more funds have been lost.