Rajkot: A 51-year-old farmer from Dhutarpar village in Jamnagar taluka has accused a bank employee of embezzling Rs 23 lakh by making unauthorised withdrawals from his and his family members’ accounts. Panch A Division police registered a case of criminal breach of trust against the accused.According to an FIR filed by Parsotam Limbasiya, the embezzlement was carried out between Nov 13, 2024 and Aug 10, 2026 by Dipen Kuchadiya, a resident of Jamnagar.Limbasiya, who owns 80 bighas of agricultural land spread across two survey numbers in Dhutarpar village, had applied for an agricultural loan at a branch of a nationalised bank on Nov 13, 2024. The bank sanctioned Rs 20 lakh, with Rs 10 lakh each disbursed to accounts held by Limbasiya and his mother, Ujii.During the application process, Kuchadiya allegedly helped Limbasiya and got his signatures on various loan-related documents. After the loan was sanctioned, he told Limbasiya to return the next day to collect the funds.When Limbasiya returned to the bank, Kuchadiya allegedly told him that network connectivity problems were preventing cash withdrawals and assured him that he would contact him once the issue was resolved.In the following weeks, Kuchadiya kept making excuses, saying the bank did not have enough cash.Growing suspicious after the prolonged delay, Limbasiya went to the bank and checked his accounts. He discovered that the entire Rs 20 lakh loan had already been withdrawn without his knowledge or consent.Further inquiries allegedly revealed unauthorised transactions from the savings account of Limbasiya’s wife, Jyotsna, at the same branch. As Limbasiya had difficulty filling out cheque details, he had previously relied on Kuchadiya to help him with withdrawals. Kuchadiya allegedly retained a signed cheque and used it to withdraw Rs 3 lakh from Jyotsna’s account.According to the complaint, Kuchadiya siphoned off a total of ₹23 lakh. Limbasiya told police that other farmers in the area had reportedly been similarly defrauded by Kuchadiya.Speaking to TOI, Panch A Division sub-inspector A R Parmar said the complainant was unaware of the accused’s exact designation, but preliminary inquiries indicated that Kuchadiya was a bank employee.“The accused claimed that he had borrowed the money from the farmer and had returned it. We are collecting evidence to substantiate the claims and allegations,” SI Parmar said.
