PIL Filed In Orissa High Court For CBI Probe Into Cooperative Bank Scam In Cuttack

Cuttack: A PIL has been filed in Orissa High Court seeking investigation by CBI or any Central agency into the alleged irregularities in loan disbursement at District Cooperative Bank in Athagarh of the district.

Bharatiya Bikash Parishad, a philanthropic organisation, has filed the petition alleging that the farmers, who had taken loans from the bank, were being harassed to repay far more than the loan amount. While they had availed loans of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000, the bank has been issuing notices to them to repay Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The petition stated that some miscreants had fraudulently taken loans in the name of the farmers from the bank.

Last week, several farmers had staged a demonstration in Athagarh alleging loan scam in the bank. They alleged that money amounting to over Rs 1 crore was misappropriated from the accounts of several innocent people.

On November 27, three farmers belonging to Athagarh attempted self-immolation in front of the Assembly in Bhubaneswar alleging harassment in the fake loan case.

The petitioner said the farmers had appealed to the district collector and SP seeking action on the matter. Since the brother of Cooperation Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain was involved in the scam, no step was being taken on their complaints, they alleged. The irregularities took place when the minister’s brother Birendra Pratap Swain was the president of the Cuttack Central Cooperative Bank, they added.

In order to bring the real culprits in the scam to light and give justice to the farmers, the petitioner appealed to the High Court to order probe by a Central agency. The petition, filed by Surendra Panigrahi, president of the Parishad, has made eight individuals including chief secretary and CBI parties to the case.