ASSAM TIMES POST
Guwahati: tA UCO bank’s Barpeta former Branch Manager has been arrested on charges of being involved in a nearly Rs three crore loan scam collecting money from bank customers in Barpeta district to grant loans to them.
Police officials here on Friday said the former bank manager identified as Alok Kumar was arrested last evening by a police team lead by Kayakuchi police Out Post Officer-in-Charge (OC) Utpal Bora.
The multi-crore embezzlement scam came to light when on October 10 the same police team had arrested one Abdul Kader of Naligoon in Kayakuchi of the district on the basis of an FIR lodged by nine persons against him.
After he was sent to five days police custody by a local court after his arrest U/S 420/406 IPC on case no. 1856/19, the officials said Abdul Kader during interrogation claimed that he along with Bank Manager Alok Kumar in the name of granting loans they collected huge amounts from the bank customers across the district.
About Kumar’s modus operandi, Kader alleged that the Manager had lured the customers saying special loan schemes were available to them and also approached farmers with special benefits under the Kisan Credit Card scheme.
Kader also confessed that he along with Alok Kumar in the name of agricultural loans collected s of Rupees from people.
The customers did not get the loan amount transferred to their accounts despite official bank approval but instead received loan recovery notices, the police officials said.
The victims first approached the local MLA and then lodged an FIR against Abdul Kader who made a statement about the involvement of the Bank Manager in this regard leading to Alok Kumar’s arrest.
Stating Kumar had allegedly forged the signature of the customers in the loan applications, they said several documents were recovered from the bank.
