Dhenkanal: June 1: Five years post the much hyped loan fraud in Dhenkanal Urban Co-operative Bank, the Orissa state government seems now to actively initiate measures to crack the racket.
The State Cooperation department immediately shot off a letter to the Crime Branch to investigate the large-scale monetary irregularities. The department, in its letter, promised administrative action against the scammers based on the findings of the Crime Branch investigation. The Crime Branch of Odisha police detained 13 persons for interrogation in connection with the loan fraud in Dhenkanal Urban Co-operative Bank.
Reports say, sleuths of the investigating agency imbibed questions on the former president of the bank, the secretary and some other persons who didn’t repay their loans.
“I was in charge of Dhenkanal Urban Co-operative Bank twice since 1993-94 till 2011. It’s a 50-year old bank and I took charge in its 43rd year when the bank was struggling to pay customers. I joined taking it as a challenge to revive it. The allegations being levelled are absolutely false and politically motivated,” stated the bank’s former President Sukanta Mishra to our sources.
The letter being delivered to the police headquarters said that the loan sub-committee had sanctioned loans amounting to about Rs 2.48 crore on June 13, 2011.
However, the details of the loan amount were allegedly manipulated that obstructed the collection of the sanctioned sums in time. The bank became bankrupt and subsequently was declared liquidated on February 17, 2010 by the Registrar of Cooperative society following an order of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
On the other hand, the depositors are passing through a tough time after liquidation.
It was suspected that financial irregularities surmounting to a whopping Rs 11 crore was made during 1993 and 2011.
The bank, which was functioning at Jagannath Road in Dhenkanal town, has now been shifted to Durga Bazar where it is operating temporarily with a handful of employees.
