MARGAO
Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao Carlo Santana da Silva has convicted and sentenced a clerk of a nationalized bank for forging the signature of a bank customer in the ATM card register. The accused took the ATM card and PIN of the customer and dishonestly withdrew money on different occasions, totalling Rs 3.75 lakh and used the same for personal gains.
The Judge has sentenced the accused Helicia Viegas for the offence under section 409 IPC to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of six months and shall pay compensation to the bank, Benaulim branch amounting to Rs 3,75,000 within a period of thirty days.
"For the offence under section 468 IPC, the accused has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a further period of six months. Both sentences of imprisonment run consecutively. Default in paying the compensation amount or any part of it will result in the accused suffering simple imprisonment for a further period of two months, after completion of a substantial sentence," Judge Carlo stated.
“In sum and substance, showing leniency to such an accused will only send wrong signals to all and sundry and also the members of society, who all unfailingly trust nationalized banks with their money. I have kept in mind for a brute majority of our citizens, the monies deposited by them with the Bank are their lifetime savings,” the Judge observed.
The judge added: “The accused cannot get away only with payment of compensation. I have kept in mind that the accused was a banker and she committed a breach of trust viz the amounts deposited by a trusting citizen. As rightly argued by the learned APP, a flee-bite sentence of imprisonment will send very wrong signals, especially because the accused is till this date (thirteen years later) still wrongfully holding the said monies illegally withdrawn by her.”
