For more than two years, a deposit of Rs.12,00,000 stayed idle in his NRE account, slowly growing with interest. It was a small fortune born out of long hours of work in a foreign land. Tom Verghese often smiled at the thought of the money that was waiting for him back home in Kerala: untouched, safe, and growing.

But it all changed on a Monday morning.

Tom logged into his Farmers Bank of India account and almost fell out of his chair in disbelief. Something unbelievable has happened to his NRE account! The statement showed a Balance of just Rs.2,500.

He stared at the screen, refreshing the page again and again. But the number didn’t change.

He spent the next few days on phone calls and emails. The bank officials were polite but indifferent. Their unapologetic reply, “sir, the funds were withdrawn a couple of times since 2021. You did sign the documents yourself,” sounded surreal.

Tom’s voice cracked in utter dismay. “That’s impossible. I haven’t been to India since 2018.”

The manager replied with a smirk. “The signature matches, sir.”

Something inside Tom exploded. He wasn’t just losing money — he was losing the trust that had kept him connected to his home state.

When official channels stalled, Tom began his own search. He noticed something very strange in the account statements of the past years: the withdrawals had been made through another account one that carried his name, but a slightly different address.

House Number 12-04 instead of 1204. Someone had created a mirror identity.

The police dragged their feet in the investigation. But one officer, Inspector Jaison Thomas from the cybercrime wing, agreed to look deeper. Together they uncovered a chilling trail. The forged account had been opened at a branch in Kottayam, and while the CCTV footage was erased, a backup file revealed a man signing the papers.

It was a man who looked disturbingly like Tom with matching height and grey hair.
But it was not Tom.

Jaison’s investigation moved quickly after that. The transfer authorizations were traced to an email address created using Tom’s old PAN details and Indian phone number. Whoever had done it knew Tom well.

The revelation that followed their investigation was beyond belief for Tom.
The bank clerk, nervous and sweating, handed over the original documents.
“Sir,” he whispered, “these were submitted by Mr. Alex Mathew… your cousin.”

Alex, the cousin who used to handle matters concerning the bank accounts of most of his relatives abroad, seemed to be a bankable person. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” he assured everyone who relied on him.

Jaison acted swiftly. He called Alex for a “routine verification.” When he arrived, confident and smiling, the police were ready. Inside his phone was the proof — fake ID scans, forged signatures, and transaction trails that led straight to shell accounts.

When confronted, Alex’s charm vanished and he confessed. He had started withdrawing small amounts, transferring them to his own accounts, hoping he could return everything whenever they needed it. But his greed had exceeded beyond his means and betrayed his own faith in himself.

Months later, after the trial and sentencing, Tom stood outside the same Farmers Bank of India branch at Kottayam. People walked past, carrying their hopes and savings in tote bags, trusting someone with their hard earned money.

Tom remembered the Biblical saying: “The love of money is the root cause of all evil.” (Timothy 6:10)