BIEO grilling ex-bank MD Subhrajytoi Bharali over loan fraud

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The former Managing Director (MD) of the Industrial Co-operative Bank, Subhrajytoi Bharali, has been in the custody of the Bureau of Investigation (Economic Offences) (BIEO) since July 4 and facing marathon interrogation over misappropriation of funds.

Bharali had been earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case.

BIEO officials informed mediapersons here on Thursday that they received complaints from nine persons that during his tenure as MD of the Industrial Co-operative Bank, Bharali and some accomplices within the bank had fraudulently taken loans in their names through forgery and other illegal means. An FIR was lodged in this connection by one Mitul Choudhury and eight other victims on June 29, the BIEO officials said. The complainants alleged that between December last year and January this year they received notices from the Industrial Co-operative Bank, Maligaon to repay loan amounts of varying amounts.

The complainants said they were shocked to receive the notices because they had never applied for loans in the first place. They then collected the details regarding the loans and found that loans had indeed been sanctioned in their names - two loans in the name of Mitul Choudhury worth Rs 25 lakh and Rs 8,38,747; a loan of Rs 25 lakh in the name of one Diganta Das; a loan of Rs 50 lakh in the name of one Jonali Das; a loan of Rs 25 lakh in the name of one Anup Choudhury; a loan of Rs 25 lakh in the name of one Nitul Kalita; a loan of Rs 25 lakh in the name of one Jyoti Das; a loan of Rs 49 lakh in the name of one Jyotish Boro; a loan of Rs 40 lakh in the name of one Sonti Das; and a loan of Rs 97 lakh in the name of one Pulin Das.

On the other hand, the BIEO officials disclosed that they have also arrested one Subhankar Saha in a separate case.

Saha was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged on June 14 by one Ibrahim Khalil of Karupetia, who alleged that an amount of Rs 18 lakh was misappropriated from him by the accused person and three others on the pretext of supplying biscuits, dry sweetmeats etc., from a Hyderabad-based manufacturer, M/s Banu Consumer Products. Khalil alleged that after taking his money, the accused persons supplied some damaged products and subsequently neither changed the goods nor refunded his money.

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