In a significant crackdown on corruption, the Sikkim Vigilance Police recently arrested two State Bank of Sikkim (SBS) officials on charges including criminal conspiracy, cheating, misappropriation, and forgery. The arrests followed raids at their residences and offices in Gangtok and Sang. Allegedly, the accused officials, in collaboration with a deceased female customer—who happened to be the mother of one of them—fraudulently deposited six Demand Drafts (DDs) totaling Rs. 30 lakhs into their personal accounts.
These drafts, intended for the Accounts Officer of the Pension Department, Government of Sikkim, to refund overpayments to deceased pensioners, were diverted for personal gain. The investigation, prompted by a complaint from the Pension Department, revealed disturbing details, including the discovery that one draft was deposited into the account of a deceased customer who had passed away in 2017. Seized documents such as bank passbooks and passports suggest further financial misconduct, with authorities indicating that the total defrauded amount may escalate as the probe progresses.