5 arrested for Rs 2.96 cr fraud in Odisha Gramya Bank

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Nov 18:

The Economics Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha’s crime branch (CB) today arrested five persons for their alleged role in a Rs 2.96 crore bank fraud, which took place in Balihat branch of Odisha Gramya Bank in Cuttack district in 2011-12..

The accused were identified as Santosh Kumar Biswal, Dillip Kumar Hota, Narahari Jena, Prakash Rath and Bibekananda Biswal, all of them from Patkura police station of Kendrapara district.

The case came to light after the general manager (vigilance) of Odisha Gramya bank filed a complaint with EOW on December 27, 2013 alleging that a fraud had taken place in Balihat branch with 148 fake loan worth Rs 2.96 crore sanctioned and disubursed fraudulently under the KGB personal loan scheme in 2011-12.

After registering a case, the EOW investigated the matter and found out that the accused persons joined hands in a criminal conspiracy to get the loans sanctioned and disbursed.

EOW officials said the loans were sanctioned by accepting forged documents and showing the beneficiaries as teachers of different UP/ME/high schools.

“We have arrested the accused in this case and forwarded them to a court here today. Investigation of the case is continuing,” an EOW official said.

On December 28, 2013 the EOW had arrested four more persons, including a former branch manager and a field officer of the bank.