PNB Greater Noida branch staff suspended as customers report missing deposits

Customers of a Punjab National Bank branch in Sector Pi-1, Greater Noida, have alleged that money was withdrawn from their savings accounts and fixed deposits without their authorisation, prompting police complaints (Yes Punjab, The Logical Indian). Five employees, including the branch manager, have been suspended (India Today, The Free Press Journal), and police registered an FIR at the Beta-2 police station (The Economic Times, The Times of India).

What every report agrees on

Reports agree that account holders found sums missing from savings and fixed deposit accounts without their knowledge (India Today, PTC News, Mathrubhumi). Customers say they received no SMS alerts and that fixed deposits were closed prematurely (DNA India, The Free Press Journal, The Logical Indian). Many of the complainants are farmers (The Times of India, Mathrubhumi), and The Indian Express describes one woman whose family says ₹1.18 crore of land compensation for the Jewar Airport project went missing (The Indian Express). Bank staff were suspended and police opened an investigation (Business Today, CNBC-TV18). Several account holders said staff told them an RBI audit was under way when they sought passbook updates (India Today, Business Today), and farmers' union members staged a sit-in outside the branch (Business Today).

How the left-leaning press told it

The Indian Express, The New Indian Express and Hindustan Times: Farmers' savings and police probe

Outlets rated centre-left gave differing figures. The New Indian Express reported alleged misappropriation of nearly ₹35 crore (The New Indian Express), Hindustan Times reported, citing police, an allegation of more than ₹12 crore (Hindustan Times), and The Indian Express centred on a farmer family's lost land compensation and 25 complainants without a total (The Indian Express).

How the right-leaning press told it

India Today, The Economic Times, The Times of India and ABP Live: Insider fraud, ₹35 crore alleged

Outlets rated centre-right led with the ₹35 crore figure as an allegation from customers (The Times of India, The Economic Times, ABP Live). The Times of India reported at least 16 complainants, an FIR for criminal breach of trust and a closed branch (The Times of India), while ABP Live focused on the absence of OTPs and alerts (ABP Live). India Today described crores transferred without customers' knowledge without giving a total (India Today).

How the centre told it

Mint: Bank damage control and claims

Mint, rated centre, led with the bank's response, reporting that PNB settled three claims totalling ₹43 lakh (Mint). It described complaints of more than ₹12 crore in suspected fraudulent transfers under investigation (Mint).

What the record shows

The ₹35 crore figure appears in reports as customers' allegation or an estimate (The Free Press Journal, DNA India, The Times of India). Hindustan Times attributes a figure of more than ₹12 crore to complaints reported by police (Hindustan Times), and Mint gives the same figure while reporting a bank statement that three claims worth ₹43 lakh had been settled (Mint). The number of complainants also differs: at least 16 in The Times of India (The Times of India), 18 complaints in DNA India (DNA India) and 25 in The Indian Express (The Indian Express). Hindustan Times reports all employees of the branch were suspended (Hindustan Times), while other outlets report five suspensions (The Logical Indian, The Free Press Journal). One complainant told The Times of India the bank said money would be credited only after the probe ends (The Times of India).

Drafted by the Alethman engine from 17 independent reports, and checked by an editor before publication. An outlet's side comes from published media-bias ratings (Media Bias/Fact Check, AllSides) or documented ownership, named under the coverage bar; Alethman does not rate outlets itself.