In '05, a clueless pensioner saw Rs 56 cr move in and out of her bank account

It was a story of so close and yet so far for Nathiben Shanabhai Zala (70), a pensioner from Chipdi village in Kheda district from Gujarat. If her pension accounts are to be believed, she would have been a millionaire.

But, far from getting to enjoy the Rs 56 crore credited to her account on March 30, 2005, she is today entangledu00a0 in a legal battle with her bank.

Zala, who earned Rs 884 in monthly pension, was shocked to see Rs 16,24,30,000 debited from her Bank of India account. Then, on April 16, Rs 35 crore was withdrawn.
u00a0
Confused, her son, Chimna Bhai, a clerk at the Gujarat State Transport Department, approached advocate Laxman Wadia after his efforts to lodge a case against the bank failed.

They approached the Gujarat High Court to file a criminal suit against the bank, but were ordered to go to the metropolitan court.

Wadia says, "The local police filed a summary report 2006 to the court stating no offence can be registered against the bank. We moved the court only when we did not receive a response to the RTI that we issued to show documents related to the day the amount was debited."

After five years, the Kapadvanj court reserved the order on whether the case should be reopened.

Money laundering?
Herald D'Costa, a cyber cell investigator, said, "Money laundering can not be ruled out in this case."
Mid DAY contacted P G Desai, branch manager, Bank of India (Chipdi), he said, "I don't have any information on this as I have just taken charge. We are not supposed to divulge any details of existing accounts in our bank."