If I Can Be Duped, What About Common People? Trinamool MP After Cyber Fraud

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Saturday expressed concern over the rising incidents of cyber fraud, questioning how ordinary citizens could be protected if even public representatives like him could fall prey to such scams.

"If a person like me were to fall under the trap of bank fraud, what will the common people face? Why is the Ministry of Finance not setting up an anti-cyber fraud unit?" Banerjee told NDTV, reacting to the recent cyber fraud case in which over Rs 57 lakh was siphoned off from one of his dormant accounts.

West Bengal's Serampore MP said he had an account with the State Bank of India (SBI) that he had not operated for a long time. "Someone did the scam by using KYC. My photo was superimposed. PAN and Aadhaar were used wrongfully. Using that account, nearly Rs 57 lakh has been siphoned from my account that I won as MP," he said.

Banerjee further said the bank detected suspicious transactions and filed a complaint with the cybercrime division of Kolkata Police. "After SBI lodged a complaint, the case has been under investigation. On Friday night, the SBI credited Rs 57 lakh in my Parliament account. They said it was because of some internal fault," he added.

According to official sources, cybercriminals had gained access to one of Banerjee's old accounts at the SBI's legislative assembly sub-branch and transferred the money through multiple unauthorised transactions.

The account was reportedly opened between 2001 and 2006, when Banerjee was serving as the MLA of Asansol South. Investigators said forged PAN and Aadhaar cards were used to carry out the fraud.

Senior officials of Kolkata Police have been directed to probe the case thoroughly. Further investigations are underway.