The victim, Anil Jain, director of JTC Food Company, told police that the accused withdrew the amount by depositing a cheque which carried his "scanned" signature.

Jain, whose company has a current account with Citibank in Jeevan Bharti Building, CP, said, "I get a monthly statement from the bank. In December 2007, I was shocked to learn that Rs 2 lakh was withdrawn on November 21, a holiday for our company."

When Jain confronted the bank officials, they evaded the issue, police said. After Jain persisted, they told him that they received a cheque with his signature. Jain demanded that the cheque be shown to him. "When I saw the signature, I was more shocked. The bank had given the amount on a cheque which carried my scanned signature," Jain said.

Police said the bank did not even demand an identity proof from the accused. "The bank demands an identity proof from whoever submits a cheque for an amount in excess of Rs 50,000, as per norms. In this case, it was not done. Moreover, there is no sign on the backside of the cheque," a senior police officer said.