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Driver withdraws Rs 1.1 lakh from Canada-based NRI’s account

New Delhi, January 3, 2008
Express news service

A Canada-based NRI woman, living in west Delhi’s Hari Nagar at present, was in for a shock on New Year’s Day, when she found $8,500 in cash and several diamond necklaces stolen from her home. Rs 1.1 lakh was missing from her bank account also. And since January 2, her driver has been missing too.
On January 1, Preeti Sharma (23) received an SMS from ICICI Bank that said Rs 1.1 lakh had been debited from her account. “I was shocked and immediately looked for my ATM cards. My ICICI Gold card and HDFC Bank ATM card were missing, in addition to some other valuables and cash,” she said.

Sharma’s mother Pushpa is a heart patient and the family is in India for her treatment. They had hired the driver, Sunil Sharma (30), through Just Dial, a phone-based search engine.

Immediately after she discovered the loss, Sharma confronted Sunil who pleaded innocence. “He didn’t turn up the next day and attempts to contact him have proved futile.”

Sharma then lodged a complaint with the Hari Nagar police. Officers said a team was sent to Sunil’s house in Palwal (Haryana). “His relatives said he hadn’t come home for the last two years,” a senior officer said. A case was registered against Sunil on Thursday.

Officers said Sunil was able to withdraw the cash from an ICICI ATM because Sharma had written the personal identification number (PIN) of the card on its reverse side. “And since the HDFC card didn’t have the PIN written on it, he (Sunil) couldn’t use it,” the officer said. The police said Sharma hadn’t got Sunil verified with them. Sharma is settled in Canada with her mother and nephew. Her father and brother died in an accident in 2005. The family was supposed to return to Canada in October 2007, but couldn’t because Pushpa slipped and hurt her back.