Imphal, January 12: Cracking the case of buying books worth over Rs 18 lakhs from the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur with a fake and stolen cheque, police have managed to arrest the master mind behind the fraud and recover the books as well.

The arrested has been identified as Konthoujam Jiten (39) of Khongjom Mamang Leikai.

Jiten runs a book store located opposite Friends Talkies at Paona bazar and he was picked up by the police from his book store yesterday at about 7 pm.

Spilling the beans of the modus operandi of the fraud, Jiten told media persons today that he went to the Imphal Urban Co-operative Bank on January 4 to get a bankers' cheque for Rs three thousand.

At the bank, Jiten was told to get the signature of an accountant and was handed a cheque book.

While on the way to the Accountant, Jiten admitted that he took out a cheque leaf from the book and after procuring the signature of the Accountant on the cheque for Rs three thousand returned home.

On reaching home, Jiten struck upon the idea of buying books from the blank cheque and duly filled it up for the value of Rs 18 .

34 lakhs.

Thereafter Jiten said he closely studied the signature of the Accountant on his bankers' cheque and forged his signature.

The signature of the Manager was also forged along the line of the signature of the Accountant.

The following day he went to office of the Board of Secondary Education and after submitting the forged cheque, collected books worth Rs 18.34 lakhs from Class I to Class VIII.

The book consignments were taken in two 407 Tata and one Tata truck in two days, he disclosed and added that the books were taken to his house at Khongjom.

The Board then entered the amount of the cheque into its record and sent it to the Imphal Urban Co-operative Bank for due transactions.

However the bank informed the Board that the cheque was stolen earlier and hence payment could not be made.

This alerted the Board and they were soon on the trail of Jiten, said officials of the Board of Secondary Education.

After the Board managed to track down the book store of Jiten at Paona bazar, the matter was reported to the Imphal police on January 8 and a case was registered, said the Board officials.

Acting on the case filed by the Board the police swung into action and managed to arrest Jiten from his book store yesterday at about 7 pm.

The books were recovered from his residence at Khongjom today at about 8 in the morning, informed police.

Comment