New Delhi: The story of bad loans seems to have just started with big players already enjoying their loot in a country where they can go unnoticed. First it was Vijay Mallaya, then it was Nirav Modi and a couple of more episodes and now a new one from the North Eastern part of the country.

As per the news report, not less than five government-owned banks are likely to be hit on their fiscal worth Rs 500 crore under the banner of bad loans and shoddy verification in the disbursement of the Kisan Credit Cards and also the prime minister’s flagship MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) scheme. As of now, two complaints have been filed with the Prime Minister Office (PMO), Union Ministry of Finance, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and top brass of the Bank of India (BoI), State Bank of India (SBI), Allahabad Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bank of Baroda (BoB), raising a high stink in loan disbursements. As per the allegations, the middlemen who were in connivance with bank officials in the district of Rohtas (Sasaram) committed fraud with the banks using fake certificates and false appraisals to obtain large sums as loans.

The person who revealed all the details is Vijay Kumar Choudhary, a former member of constitutional body National Commission for Scheduled Castes, has told the Prime Minster Office that he had already spent time gathering evidence before filing the complaints, alleging loan fraud worth over Rs 500 crore and sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to book the main persons preying on the vulnerable rural population. If Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi can be compared to sharks, then the middlemen operating in the hinterland using people like Paras Ram and Ashok Pandey are very small fish in the growing NPAs.

Currently, the PMO and finance ministry are examining the complaint lodged by Choudhary. The complaint also carries an ‘Request for Information’ reply from Bank of India which admitted that the bank has conducted proper inquiry into the matter and further steps are being taken against the suspected people involved in the loan disbursement fraud which includes Kisan Credit Card and also the MUDRA scheme launched by Modi in April 2015.

“Bank of India branch heads, loan managers and middlemen conned the bank between 2012 and 2017 under various government schemes including Kisan Credit Card and MUDRA, swindling over Rs 100 crore by producing fake names, addresses and asset papers. I had filed an RTI with BoI’s Patna circle. They refused to divulge the amount of loans and details of beneficiaries citing it as personal and commercial information related to third parties. However, they have admitted to the fraud,” Choudhary wrote in his letter to Prime Minister Office.

“The bank has carried out an investigation and appropriate action is being taken against people suspected to have been involved,” BoI’s reply furnished by Information Officer Amrendra Kumar said.

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