Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 20: A Mumbai court has granted bail to Rahul Punjwani, former manager of a private bank’s Chowpatty branch, in connection with an alleged Rs 29.83-lakh cheating case involving the fraudulent alteration of mobile numbers and email IDs linked to the accounts of deceased bank customers.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Nilesh Dhend of the 62nd Court granted Punjwani bail on a personal bond and surety of Rs 1 lakh, observing that the evidence in the case was documentary in nature and that his detention was not necessary until the completion of the investigation.

The Central Cyber region police had arrested Punjwani and another bank employee, Abhishek Verma, on September 9 in connection with the case.

According to the prosecution, an internal inquiry conducted by the bank revealed that the mobile numbers and email IDs linked to the savings accounts of deceased customer Vimala Patil had allegedly been changed using customer request forms bearing forged signatures.

The changes were reportedly carried out through the bank’s Tardeo and Shivaji Park branches in July and October 2025.

The court noted that although the accused’s role had emerged in the case, the nature of the allegations did not warrant his continued detention until the investigation was completed.

The court also permitted Punjwani to furnish provisional cash security of Rs 1 lakh in lieu of one or two sureties for a period of two weeks.