Rajkissore Dutt | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1826 – 1828 |
| Known for | committing a major fraud against theBank of Bengal, a predecessor of theState Bank of India |
| Criminal charge | criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonesty including delivery of property, fraud, embezzlement and misrepresentation. |
Wanted by | Bank of Bengal,State Bank of India |
| Wanted since | 1826 |
| Details | |
| Victims | Bank of Bengal,State Bank of India |
| Location | India |
Rajkissore Dutt (alternate spelling:Raj Kishore Dutt) (fl. 19th century) was a 19th-century Indian businessman, who is most notable for perpetrating a major fraud against theBank of Bengal, which is one of the predecessors of theState Bank of India.
He was born and raised inKolkata. He was known for being a devout Hindu and he regularly worshipped the Hindu goddessKali.[1]
He established a bank inKolkata, known asIndian Bank. The bank circulated its own banknotes and achieved significant success.[1]
In 1826, he colluded with his son-in-law Dwarkey Nath Mitter to forgeCompany's Paper or Government Securities. The documents were forged and passed off as genuine to the public. These documents enabled him to avail a loan ofRupees three and a half lakhs from theBank of Bengal, a predecessor of theState Bank of India.[1][2]
However, his misdeeds were soon discovered and he was tried, convicted and sentenced to transportation in the penal colonies of theEast India Company, where he lived out the rest of his life.[1]
In 1829, Mr. J. A. Dorin was the treasury secretary of theBank of Bengal. When the documents forged by Rajkissore Dutt were presented before him for verification, he perceived some peculiarity in its printing. He forwarded the documents to the head office of the Treasury. At the Treasury, the documents were examined byHenry Prinsep, the financial secretary to theCompany government.Henry Prinsep concluded that his own signatures had been forged by Rajkissore Dutt, and thus the fraud came to light.[3][4]
The trial thus commenced and the final judgement was given on 30 June 1834 by the Court of Directors of theEast India Company.[4][3]
The fraud had a major impact on theBank of Bengal, which is a predecessor of theState Bank of India. The amount of the fraud was later written off towards the profit and loss account.[5] The fraud perpetrated by Rajkissore Dutt wiped out a major part of the bank's profit for the year. The fraud also impacted the dividends paid out by thebank till the year 1834.[6][2]
The fraud and the court case associated with it was regularly reported and written about in the Calcutta Magazine and Monthly Register as well asThe Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and Its Dependencies.[7][8][9][10]