Loan fraud: SBI cashier, wife remanded in police custody

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, February 19

Two loans worth Rs 47.50 lakh (Rs 23.75 lakh each) were allegedly sanctioned under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) by the State Bank of India (SBI) here to start industries at two places in violation of norms.

On February 17 night, the city police registered a fraud case against five persons — suspended bank cashier Sunil Jain, his wife Meenakashi Jain, contractual bank worker Reeta Rani, customer Pargat Singh and retired Chief Manager of the bank Surinderpal Singh.

Sunil Jain and his wife were arrested last evening.

“We have procured the police remand of Meenakashi till February 22 and her husband Sunil till February 23 and conducting raids to arrest other accused,” said Sub-inspector Baljit Singh.

Preliminary investigations have detected fraudulent transfer of Rs 1.10 crore to an account of Pargat Singh from other bank accounts and subsequent withdrawal by Sunil Jain.

“During internal inquiry of the SBI it has come to light that arrested cashier Sunil with the help of other bank officers got sanctioned two loans of Rs 47.50 lakh under the PMEGP in violation of norms. More such loans are likely to come to fore as our team has started investigations,” said Sandeep Wadehra, DSP, Sangrur.

As per internal report prepared by SBI officers, who started their investigations last month after getting information about financial fraud worth crores of rupees, Meenakashi Jain, wife of suspended bank cashier Sunil Jain, got a loan of Rs 23.75 lakh sanctioned to set up Goverdharn Wires in 2017. But before the sanctioning of the loan, Meenakashi was already the owner of Goverdhan Traders, which was functioning at Sangrur Focal Point.

“During investigations by the field staff, it has come to light that the old machinery of Goverdhan Traders was shifted to new firm Goverdhan Wires,” says the bank report.

Today when this correspondent visited D-5, Industrial Area, Sangrur, a board of “Goverdhan Traders” painted white was lying on a side of the premises.

“I could not disclose any detail,” said Vivek Jain, who claimed to be the owner of the plot.

In the second loan, Rs 23.75 lakh was sanctioned under the PMEGP to Reeta Rani, who worked as water woman in the bank on ad hoc basis, to set up Shree Balaji Wires in violation of norms.