Former Odisha MLA sentenced to jail for bank loan fraud

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Baripada, Apr 12:

Former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA from Baripada Bimal Lochan Das and six others were today sentenced to one-year in jail by the Special Vigilance Court here after convicting them in connection with a bank loan fraud.

In addition to the jail term, the court has slapped a fine of Rs 16.70 lakh on the former MLA. The court has also slapped fines on others.

The court has, however, acquitted bank’s Assistant Manager Kulamani Barik and Accountant Dilip Bhanja for lack of evidence against them.

Notably, these persons had failed to repay loans taken from the Baripada Urban Cooperative Bank. Das during his tenure as the President of Baripada Urban Cooperative Bank had sanctioned loans to these persons on the basis of forged documents.

The bank’s business has been halted since 2014 following an order of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).