The carefully planned robbery at the Chelambra branch of the South Malabar Grameen Bank has raised question on the lapses in the security system of the banks. One has to think how safe is to keep money and other valuable items in the banks in the state, particularly in regional, cooperative, private and other financial institutions such as the Kerala State Financial Enterprises?
This type of robbery is one of the most shocking organised looting in the history of the state and an eye-opener to the serious lapses in the security system in many banks. This has also brought to light the poor measures being followed in safeguarding gold and cash in most of the medium and small-scale financial institutions in the state.
Though some of the leading private banks are already having state-of-the-art security systems, but some of the government-owned financial institutions and private money lending firms are having very weak security arrangements.
Kerala State Financial Enterprises having about 270 branches is run by state. All sorts of banking activities are carried. Only 50 branches have a strong room and the other branches are equipped only with lockers.
Security alarms have been installed only in three or four branches, which are also not in proper working condition. According to high sources at the KSFE there is no security personnel at any of the branches.
The Muthoot Fin Corp another big financial institute have strong rooms built according to RBI norms in all its 510 branches. All the branches also have security alarms systems and round-the-clock security personnel.
According to its Chief Security Officer Abraham Koshy the bank is at the present planning to install 24-hour video surveillance system at all the branches.
The senior manager of the bank Sasikumar of the State Cooperative Bank told that the bank is having a fool proof security system with strong rooms constructed as per RBI specifications and security alarms in all its branches.
A safe-locker is the only security measure being used by most of the private banks (money lenders) which also do brisk business. However, many banks have insurance protection, an extensive portion of the transactions is done off the records to evade tax and otherwise it would not get insurance coverage.
RBI has specified various security measures for all financial and banking institutions, even specified the composition of the mixture used for constructing of strong rooms and thickness of the walls including the bottom and roof.
But there is no proper mechanism to ensure that these norms are followed. Every major bank has security committees which constantly evaluate the security measures.
According to specialists of the field, security systems can be installed at a cost ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 30,000 depending upon the features.
Now day’s various advance security system are like intrusion sensors, door sensors, glass break sensors, movement sensors and video recorders are available.
Auto-dealer facility capable of making telephone calls to specified telephone numbers and conveying the pre-programmed messages are also common features of the security systems.
In auto-dealer usually the phone numbers of nearby police stations and bank officials will be specified in the system so that they are alerted immediately on the event of any robbery attempts, said John Kuriakose who is a dealer of security systems.
He said the security systems work on inbuilt batteries so that it will work even in case of power failure. More over, the alarm would sound even if there is any attempt to tamper it, he said.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
200th online ATM of SIB opened before due time
In a function film actor Mammootty inaugurated the 200th online ATM centre of South Indian Bank (SIB) at the Saritha, Savitha, Sangeetha theatre complex on Banerji Road, Ernakulam. Mammootty is global brand ambassador for SIB. The function was presided over by the V.A. Joseph, chairman and CEO of the bank.
In his speech Dr. Joseph stated that the 200th ATM centre, was planned to be opened before March 31, 2008, and has been inaugurated three months ahead of the scheduled date. At present the bank have a CBS network of 487 branches and 27 extension counters. The 500th CBS branch will be opened in New Delhi in March 2008.
For the fiscal year the bank had a corporate business target of Rs.25,000 crore in total business but the bank has already exceeded Rs.24,000 crore.
The bank has also crossed Rs.14,288 crore in deposit against the quarterly target of Rs.13,856 crore and in advance, Rs.10,000 crore against the target of Rs.9,605 crore.
In his speech Dr. Joseph stated that the 200th ATM centre, was planned to be opened before March 31, 2008, and has been inaugurated three months ahead of the scheduled date. At present the bank have a CBS network of 487 branches and 27 extension counters. The 500th CBS branch will be opened in New Delhi in March 2008.
For the fiscal year the bank had a corporate business target of Rs.25,000 crore in total business but the bank has already exceeded Rs.24,000 crore.
The bank has also crossed Rs.14,288 crore in deposit against the quarterly target of Rs.13,856 crore and in advance, Rs.10,000 crore against the target of Rs.9,605 crore.
PSU banks alliance efforts has been in vain
The counterfeit coalition by a few state-owned banks was formed to maximize their business have failed to deliver results. In 2006 two such associations were formed- one involving Bank of India, Union Bank of India and IDFC, and the other featuring Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Bank and Corporation Bank. According to senior officials who have been part of these coalitions said that the partnerships have fallen apart, at least in spirit, if not on paper. But according to records the CEOs of the participating banks deny that the effort has been in vain.
Said Corporation Bank CMD B Sambamurthy: “So far as we are concerned, the alliance is on.” The alliance between OBC, Indian Bank and Corporation Bank — popularly known as OIC — was signed on September 15, 2006, by then bank chairmen.
The alliance was for a strategic business association in identified areas for mutual benefit. The areas relate to syndication of loans, collections of cheques, remittances and jointly sourcing of computers and ATMs. By engaging in such a partnership the banks were hoping to bolster their businesses, both asset-based and on the fee income front, in the face of stiff competition. OBC CMD Alok Misra too said that alliance was on. “However, it is not possible to derive full benefit of the alliance, because in many areas we are at loggerheads and in some areas we co-operate.”
But the senior officials of the participating banks said that though the idea was good, a lack of passion to follow the agenda of the alliance by those at the helm proved to be a snag. Frequent changing of CEOs of some of the participating banks, every time brought changes in the strategies adopted by a new bank CEO. This too affected the working of the alliance, the officials said.
In the case of OBC, CMD KN Prithviraj was replaced by Alok Misra, who earlier was the executive director of Canara Bank. And in Indian Bank, KC Chakrabarty was replaced by MS Sundera Rajan, who was earlier executive director of the same bank. While B Sambamurthy the third signatory, continues with the same bank. Similarly, in Bank of India, M Balachandran was replaced by TS Narayanasami, former CMD of Indian Overseas Bank, while MV Nair of Union Bank of India is still at the helm of affairs.
According to sources from the OIC coalition said that a partnership is working in areas like syndication of loan, collections of cheques and remittances, but it do not work when it comes to sourcing of IT related issues. “Sourcing is one of the key strength of the alliance which gave them enormous bargaining power to reduce prices from IT vendors. We do not get the same benefit now with the partnership falling apart,” said a senior bank officer.
Mr Nair said the partnership between Union Bank of India, IDFC and Bank of India is still on in areas like syndication of loans and collection of cheques.
But senior officials from Bank of India said that alliance has got separated. “It was an improbable task and nothing is happening on it,” said a senior BoI official.
Industry observers are not really surprised on seeing failure of alliances. They indicated to a similar partnership between State Bank of India and IDFC in 1998 on take-out financing, which failed to take-off.
In 2005, Power Finance Corporation tied up with 11 financial institutions and banks for a single window access of funds for power companies aimed at fast track financial closure of power project. The eleven members included LIC, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, OBC, PNB, Syndicate Bank and Union Bank of India.
The announcement of the alliance between PSU banks came at a time when the finance minister P Chidambaram had called upon banks to merge in order to emerge as large global banks. The alliances was being considered as first step towards merger and it was even termed as virtual mergers.
Said Corporation Bank CMD B Sambamurthy: “So far as we are concerned, the alliance is on.” The alliance between OBC, Indian Bank and Corporation Bank — popularly known as OIC — was signed on September 15, 2006, by then bank chairmen.
The alliance was for a strategic business association in identified areas for mutual benefit. The areas relate to syndication of loans, collections of cheques, remittances and jointly sourcing of computers and ATMs. By engaging in such a partnership the banks were hoping to bolster their businesses, both asset-based and on the fee income front, in the face of stiff competition. OBC CMD Alok Misra too said that alliance was on. “However, it is not possible to derive full benefit of the alliance, because in many areas we are at loggerheads and in some areas we co-operate.”
But the senior officials of the participating banks said that though the idea was good, a lack of passion to follow the agenda of the alliance by those at the helm proved to be a snag. Frequent changing of CEOs of some of the participating banks, every time brought changes in the strategies adopted by a new bank CEO. This too affected the working of the alliance, the officials said.
In the case of OBC, CMD KN Prithviraj was replaced by Alok Misra, who earlier was the executive director of Canara Bank. And in Indian Bank, KC Chakrabarty was replaced by MS Sundera Rajan, who was earlier executive director of the same bank. While B Sambamurthy the third signatory, continues with the same bank. Similarly, in Bank of India, M Balachandran was replaced by TS Narayanasami, former CMD of Indian Overseas Bank, while MV Nair of Union Bank of India is still at the helm of affairs.
According to sources from the OIC coalition said that a partnership is working in areas like syndication of loan, collections of cheques and remittances, but it do not work when it comes to sourcing of IT related issues. “Sourcing is one of the key strength of the alliance which gave them enormous bargaining power to reduce prices from IT vendors. We do not get the same benefit now with the partnership falling apart,” said a senior bank officer.
Mr Nair said the partnership between Union Bank of India, IDFC and Bank of India is still on in areas like syndication of loans and collection of cheques.
But senior officials from Bank of India said that alliance has got separated. “It was an improbable task and nothing is happening on it,” said a senior BoI official.
Industry observers are not really surprised on seeing failure of alliances. They indicated to a similar partnership between State Bank of India and IDFC in 1998 on take-out financing, which failed to take-off.
In 2005, Power Finance Corporation tied up with 11 financial institutions and banks for a single window access of funds for power companies aimed at fast track financial closure of power project. The eleven members included LIC, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, OBC, PNB, Syndicate Bank and Union Bank of India.
The announcement of the alliance between PSU banks came at a time when the finance minister P Chidambaram had called upon banks to merge in order to emerge as large global banks. The alliances was being considered as first step towards merger and it was even termed as virtual mergers.
To increase business UBI plans to invest Rs 250 crore for IT
For the next financial year United Bank of India (UBI) will be investing Rs 250 crore on information technology.
The investment will cover a massive rise of core banking solutions (CBS), on line share trading facility, phone banking and cash management services among others.
Speaking with Business Standard, P K Gupta, chairman and managing director, UBI, said, “The main challenge in the coming year would be the application of technology for business growth.”
The bank has already started CBS in 201 branches covering 57 per cent of its business and targets to increase the number to 350 branches by the end of this fiscal and double that number by March, thus covering 90 per cent of its total business.
The bank’s implicit private network (VPN) covers 660 links (branches and regional offices) and is lined up to cover 750 links by the end of this financial year.
In August 2007 depository services were launched, soon the bank will be providing online trading of shares under a tie-up arrangement with IDBI Capital Services.
The Kolkata-based public sector bank is assured to introduce cash management services for its corporate and institutional customers. In collaboration with IIM, Calcutta it will be developing a medium-term strategic business plan.
In an attempt to communicate with the customers, the bank is ready to launch a mobile-based CRM application in partnership with Sybase 365 to deliver SMS-based inquiry services.
“All these initiatives are a part of our vision to emerge as a dynamic, techno-savy, customer-centric, progressive and financially sound bank,” said Gupta.
In the first half of this fiscal the bank’s non-interest income grew by 65 per cent to Rs 173.45 crore. The chairman stressed that, to boost this growth, the bank would continue to pull up its network for the distribution of third party products such as bank assurance, mutual funds and government business.
The bank has roped in Tata AIG Life Insurance Company as a strategic partner for its life insurance venture and launched a child insurance scheme in December 2007. “We are going to launch some exclusive products in this area,” he added.
For the meantime, the bank is making arrangements of an ATM sharing with the Indo-Nepal ATM network managed by the India-based Financial Software and System and Smart choice Technologies, Nepal.
The bank has 157 ATMs of its own. Moreover, its customers have access to more than 3,500 ATMs belonging to 12 other banks under the cash tree arrangement.
The bank has also started a disaster recovery centre at Mumbai to combat any kind of technology problems that could arise during an emergency situation.
“We are working hard to provide innovative technology solutions that would contribute to customer service,” Gupta said.
The investment will cover a massive rise of core banking solutions (CBS), on line share trading facility, phone banking and cash management services among others.
Speaking with Business Standard, P K Gupta, chairman and managing director, UBI, said, “The main challenge in the coming year would be the application of technology for business growth.”
The bank has already started CBS in 201 branches covering 57 per cent of its business and targets to increase the number to 350 branches by the end of this fiscal and double that number by March, thus covering 90 per cent of its total business.
The bank’s implicit private network (VPN) covers 660 links (branches and regional offices) and is lined up to cover 750 links by the end of this financial year.
In August 2007 depository services were launched, soon the bank will be providing online trading of shares under a tie-up arrangement with IDBI Capital Services.
The Kolkata-based public sector bank is assured to introduce cash management services for its corporate and institutional customers. In collaboration with IIM, Calcutta it will be developing a medium-term strategic business plan.
In an attempt to communicate with the customers, the bank is ready to launch a mobile-based CRM application in partnership with Sybase 365 to deliver SMS-based inquiry services.
“All these initiatives are a part of our vision to emerge as a dynamic, techno-savy, customer-centric, progressive and financially sound bank,” said Gupta.
In the first half of this fiscal the bank’s non-interest income grew by 65 per cent to Rs 173.45 crore. The chairman stressed that, to boost this growth, the bank would continue to pull up its network for the distribution of third party products such as bank assurance, mutual funds and government business.
The bank has roped in Tata AIG Life Insurance Company as a strategic partner for its life insurance venture and launched a child insurance scheme in December 2007. “We are going to launch some exclusive products in this area,” he added.
For the meantime, the bank is making arrangements of an ATM sharing with the Indo-Nepal ATM network managed by the India-based Financial Software and System and Smart choice Technologies, Nepal.
The bank has 157 ATMs of its own. Moreover, its customers have access to more than 3,500 ATMs belonging to 12 other banks under the cash tree arrangement.
The bank has also started a disaster recovery centre at Mumbai to combat any kind of technology problems that could arise during an emergency situation.
“We are working hard to provide innovative technology solutions that would contribute to customer service,” Gupta said.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Indian Banks to do fast approval of SME projects
India Banks gear up their machinery to approve micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) projects within 7-10 days and sanction loans as soon as possible.
Speaking on the occasion of MSME entrepreneurs here on Wednesday, Indian Bank Chairman and Managing Director M.S. Sundara Rajan said, “It is a competitive world and today everyone works under just-in-time concept. We should look at the project and the beneficiary rather than their balance sheets. Timely sanction of funds is more important than the interest rate.”
At present banks are having time-bound loan scheme in place for SSI. It takes around 2-9 weeks to sanction loans ranging from Rs. 25,000 to 5 lakh.
The Chairman asked the officials to clear the loan applications as soon as possible and also assured entrepreneurs that their grievances would be looked into within 48 hours of receipt of complaint.
Stating that the bank was able to come out of the trouble mainly due to its customers, he said: “I don’t want my customers to desert Indian Bank because they failed to get credit. If they do, I will punish myself by skipping lunch for a day. I am strict about it and have informed my officials in this regard.”
The Common Processing Centre was set up on a pilot basis in Chennai for sanctioning of the loans for MSMEs has proved to be a great success. Currently bank is in the process of replicating it through the length and breadth of the country.
Speaking on the occasion of MSME entrepreneurs here on Wednesday, Indian Bank Chairman and Managing Director M.S. Sundara Rajan said, “It is a competitive world and today everyone works under just-in-time concept. We should look at the project and the beneficiary rather than their balance sheets. Timely sanction of funds is more important than the interest rate.”
At present banks are having time-bound loan scheme in place for SSI. It takes around 2-9 weeks to sanction loans ranging from Rs. 25,000 to 5 lakh.
The Chairman asked the officials to clear the loan applications as soon as possible and also assured entrepreneurs that their grievances would be looked into within 48 hours of receipt of complaint.
Stating that the bank was able to come out of the trouble mainly due to its customers, he said: “I don’t want my customers to desert Indian Bank because they failed to get credit. If they do, I will punish myself by skipping lunch for a day. I am strict about it and have informed my officials in this regard.”
The Common Processing Centre was set up on a pilot basis in Chennai for sanctioning of the loans for MSMEs has proved to be a great success. Currently bank is in the process of replicating it through the length and breadth of the country.
RBI guidelines not much of safeguard for the consumer
While speaking in the Parliament on the issue of banks using musclemen to recover dues Finances Minister P Chidambaram said, "These musclemen are hired by private sector banks. If a PSU bank is found using them, I will get the manager sacked the next day".
But the seriousness is not visible in the statement made by the finance minister in the drafted guidelines that the banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India came up with on 30 November. Although these guidelines are open for discussion, the note and intention of the guidelines is, at best, a move by the regulator in order to protect the interests of the banking sector that has come under severe criticism for using strong-arm tactics while recovering loans.
RBI continues to believe that it’s prime responsibility to protect banks from insolvency; its discomfort in protecting the rights of the retail customer can be seen clearly from these guidelines.
The guidelines are not likely to bring the much-needed relief to those who have been at the receiving end of recovery agents. It do not have strict guidelines to protect the interests of people who have been victimized or will be under threat.
But the basic question is -- do we need fresh guidelines when a banking code is already in place that deals at length with the procedure which collection agents are required to follow? Clearly the answer is no. There is a need of proper implementation of the code that already exists, and not reams of fresh paper.
Goons’ coming to threaten and collect dues is nothing new, but the issue boiled over when Prakash Sarwankar, a Mumbai resident, committed suicide after being pushed to the wall by recovery agents and the issue hit national headlines.
Though, before these guidelines came, it was hard to find voices from the banking industry acknowledging the use of strong-arm tactics by recovery agents. It took a series of suicides for banks and the regulator to take notice and the result is these guidelines.
But these guidelines fall seriously short of expectations. What the victimized borrower expected from the regulator was strong mechanism that would have made his/her life easier. Whereas the draft guidelines advocate that banks should have a mechanism to address the grievances of borrowers. But, don’t you find contradictory to approach to the same institution for solving the problem whose agents are using these terror tactics?
RBI's steps are not very hard in case of punishment as well. For instance, if a bank is 'proven' guilty of using musclemen for recovering loans, there will be a "ban on a bank for engaging recovery agents in a particular area." There is no clarity about the proposed duration of the ban in the guidelines.
It would have been better to impose an exemplary fine of an amount that would have hurt the bank's bottom line and share price would have acted as a better restriction for other banks and also have brought faith in the average borrower about the regulator's seriousness in protecting his interests.
With the finance minister expressing his views on this subject, the day is not far when we would have the final guidelines on the issue. When they do come out, their effectiveness will rest on their implementation.
Banks have to put extra efforts to train the concerned people to prevent these rules from meeting the fate of the voluntary code. On a different note, the voluntary code is due for review in 2009. It will be interesting to note the changes that are incorporated.
However, given the manner in which measures aimed at protecting the interests of consumers are defying, there is little an average borrower can do except make sure to meet his financial obligations towards financial institutions on time and pray that he does not get to encounter unpleasant situations beyond his control midway through his loan tenure.
But the seriousness is not visible in the statement made by the finance minister in the drafted guidelines that the banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India came up with on 30 November. Although these guidelines are open for discussion, the note and intention of the guidelines is, at best, a move by the regulator in order to protect the interests of the banking sector that has come under severe criticism for using strong-arm tactics while recovering loans.
RBI continues to believe that it’s prime responsibility to protect banks from insolvency; its discomfort in protecting the rights of the retail customer can be seen clearly from these guidelines.
The guidelines are not likely to bring the much-needed relief to those who have been at the receiving end of recovery agents. It do not have strict guidelines to protect the interests of people who have been victimized or will be under threat.
But the basic question is -- do we need fresh guidelines when a banking code is already in place that deals at length with the procedure which collection agents are required to follow? Clearly the answer is no. There is a need of proper implementation of the code that already exists, and not reams of fresh paper.
Goons’ coming to threaten and collect dues is nothing new, but the issue boiled over when Prakash Sarwankar, a Mumbai resident, committed suicide after being pushed to the wall by recovery agents and the issue hit national headlines.
Though, before these guidelines came, it was hard to find voices from the banking industry acknowledging the use of strong-arm tactics by recovery agents. It took a series of suicides for banks and the regulator to take notice and the result is these guidelines.
But these guidelines fall seriously short of expectations. What the victimized borrower expected from the regulator was strong mechanism that would have made his/her life easier. Whereas the draft guidelines advocate that banks should have a mechanism to address the grievances of borrowers. But, don’t you find contradictory to approach to the same institution for solving the problem whose agents are using these terror tactics?
RBI's steps are not very hard in case of punishment as well. For instance, if a bank is 'proven' guilty of using musclemen for recovering loans, there will be a "ban on a bank for engaging recovery agents in a particular area." There is no clarity about the proposed duration of the ban in the guidelines.
It would have been better to impose an exemplary fine of an amount that would have hurt the bank's bottom line and share price would have acted as a better restriction for other banks and also have brought faith in the average borrower about the regulator's seriousness in protecting his interests.
With the finance minister expressing his views on this subject, the day is not far when we would have the final guidelines on the issue. When they do come out, their effectiveness will rest on their implementation.
Banks have to put extra efforts to train the concerned people to prevent these rules from meeting the fate of the voluntary code. On a different note, the voluntary code is due for review in 2009. It will be interesting to note the changes that are incorporated.
However, given the manner in which measures aimed at protecting the interests of consumers are defying, there is little an average borrower can do except make sure to meet his financial obligations towards financial institutions on time and pray that he does not get to encounter unpleasant situations beyond his control midway through his loan tenure.
Unauthorized brokers, in nexus with bank officials, acquire illegal loans in the name of daily-wage laborer
Daily-wage laborer was harassed by the Allahabad Bank for not paying loan which he had never taken. Think of the mental state of the laborer who earns who earns between Rs 50 to 60 a day and has a family of ten to look after, is issued a loan recovery notice of Rs 1.8 lakh for a loan he has never taken.
On December 29 night Jamuna Das (45) committed suicide by hanging himself to a tree in front of his house in Bhadrekhi village in Jalaun district of Bundelkhand, while his family was fast asleep.
He is survived by his wife, three sons and six daughters.
The deceased wife Rajulika, Das told the reporter that her husband had received a recovery notice from Allahabad Bank (Babai branch) in the last week of July for the non-existent loan. “After the notice, he was extremely stressed,” she added.
Das’s 17-year-old son Rajpal told The Indian Express that some unidentified persons had taken the loan in his father’s name by submitting fake papers.
He also suspected that the some unauthorized brokers, networked with bank officials, had acquired illegal loans for their family persons leaving innocent villagers to face the consequences.
Rajulika told her husband ran from pillar to post to prove his innocence but the bank authorities pressurized him to ‘return’ the amount.
“He wrote to the chief minister, district magistrate, Atta police and other officials but no one helped him,” she said.
When The Indian Express reached the Allahabad Bank (Babai branch), it found that the then branch manager Sher Singh was lodged in Orai jail, with over 15 cases of loan-related frauds registered against him.
A K Srivastava station Officer, Churkhi police station, told The Indian Express that cases had been lodged under section 420, 466, 486, 479, 120(b) and the Gangster Act. “Sher Singh along with two brokers Virendra Singh and Lalji Singh were arrested from Jhansi and sent to jail on November 19, 2007,” he added.
Jalaun District Magistrate R Sampheal told The Indian Express that the administration has taken very serious note of the incident.
He said a huge racket, including bank officials, was active in the area and the police was making full efforts to identify the guilty. “I have written to the bank authorities asking them not to issue recovery notices to the villagers without proper inquiry,” he added.
He further added that anyone found involved in unauthorized recovery of loans will be booked.
Another Dalit laborer of the same village, Shyam Babu is also the victim of the bank-broker network.
Father of seven, Babu questioned, “How can the bank hand over a loan of Rs 50,000 on my land which costs hardly Rs 40,000?”
He also repeated Rajpal’s claim that corrupt bank officials have given loans to unauthorized persons in the name of poor villagers.
“I have written to Chief Minister Mayawati and senior police officers in this regard,” he added.
It does not end here only; a laborer Gangawati Kushwaha, another victim of loan fraudulent reportedly left the village to take shelter with her relatives when a few field officers of the same bank asked her to return a loan of Rs 50,000.
On December 29 night Jamuna Das (45) committed suicide by hanging himself to a tree in front of his house in Bhadrekhi village in Jalaun district of Bundelkhand, while his family was fast asleep.
He is survived by his wife, three sons and six daughters.
The deceased wife Rajulika, Das told the reporter that her husband had received a recovery notice from Allahabad Bank (Babai branch) in the last week of July for the non-existent loan. “After the notice, he was extremely stressed,” she added.
Das’s 17-year-old son Rajpal told The Indian Express that some unidentified persons had taken the loan in his father’s name by submitting fake papers.
He also suspected that the some unauthorized brokers, networked with bank officials, had acquired illegal loans for their family persons leaving innocent villagers to face the consequences.
Rajulika told her husband ran from pillar to post to prove his innocence but the bank authorities pressurized him to ‘return’ the amount.
“He wrote to the chief minister, district magistrate, Atta police and other officials but no one helped him,” she said.
When The Indian Express reached the Allahabad Bank (Babai branch), it found that the then branch manager Sher Singh was lodged in Orai jail, with over 15 cases of loan-related frauds registered against him.
A K Srivastava station Officer, Churkhi police station, told The Indian Express that cases had been lodged under section 420, 466, 486, 479, 120(b) and the Gangster Act. “Sher Singh along with two brokers Virendra Singh and Lalji Singh were arrested from Jhansi and sent to jail on November 19, 2007,” he added.
Jalaun District Magistrate R Sampheal told The Indian Express that the administration has taken very serious note of the incident.
He said a huge racket, including bank officials, was active in the area and the police was making full efforts to identify the guilty. “I have written to the bank authorities asking them not to issue recovery notices to the villagers without proper inquiry,” he added.
He further added that anyone found involved in unauthorized recovery of loans will be booked.
Another Dalit laborer of the same village, Shyam Babu is also the victim of the bank-broker network.
Father of seven, Babu questioned, “How can the bank hand over a loan of Rs 50,000 on my land which costs hardly Rs 40,000?”
He also repeated Rajpal’s claim that corrupt bank officials have given loans to unauthorized persons in the name of poor villagers.
“I have written to Chief Minister Mayawati and senior police officers in this regard,” he added.
It does not end here only; a laborer Gangawati Kushwaha, another victim of loan fraudulent reportedly left the village to take shelter with her relatives when a few field officers of the same bank asked her to return a loan of Rs 50,000.
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