Around 3000 Mathadi workers in Mumbai lost almost 5 crore savings to a scam in a public sector bank. The savings included their provident funds and medical contingency funds. The amount was withdrawn using forged letters of the workers’ governing body, said a leading daily news report.

The Mathadi welfare board filed a complaint with the Saki Naka police station said that funds deposited up to Rs 5.01 crore in six fixed-deposit accounts with the Indian Overseas Bank were withdrawn from the Vijaya Bank’s Bhandup branch via a demand draft illegally. According to the report, fraudsters used a fake letterhead of the Mathada governing body to open an account in Vijaya bank and rob the workers of their life-savings.

The bank accounts were closed a month later using similar forged letters of the governing body. The report also said that the robbed money was withdrawn in parts through online banking and other services.

The complainant, Dadbhade, assistant commissioner in the state Labour Department said that they came to know about the fraud only when they inquired the bank about the fixed deposits’ tenure.

The workers’ board does not blame any of the two banks in the FIR. The 3000 workers operated under the banner of the Cloth Market & Shops Board based in Bhuleshwar. Dadbhade said that the board had deposited the money in fixed deposits under the government’s 6.75% interest on fixed deposits scheme. The FD’s tenure was supposed to end in February 2020.

The leading daily said in a report that an officer from the Saki Naka police station is investigating to find out the fake documents used to withdraw the money.