Three-year jail for former PNB manager, four others in Rs 1.83 crore Himachal fake crop loan scam

TNR News Network
Shimla:
A special CBI court in Shimla has jailed five persons, including a retired Punjab National Bank (PNB) manager, for their involvement in sanctioning 41 fraudulent Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans using forged documents. The scam, which dates back to 2010-2012, caused a loss of Rs 1.83 crore to the bank’s Dhalpur branch in Kullu.

Special Judge Parvinder Singh Arora delivered the judgment, sentencing former PNB manager Amar Singh Bodh to three-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 70,000. Co-accused Dharm Chand, Lekh Raj and Tashi Phunchog received four-year jail term while Babli Sharma, a customer service facilitator at the bank, was sentenced to three years. Fines totaling Rs 2.65 lakh were imposed. Failure to pay will result in an additional four months’ imprisonment.

Fraud through forged land documents

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ACB Shimla, registered the case on April 11, 2015, under IPC Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, following a complaint by Mandi Circle Head Rajeev Khanna.

Investigations revealed that the loans were sanctioned based on forged revenue records, false no-encumbrance certificates, and fake KYC documents.

Between 2010 and 2012, manager AS Bodh, in alleged collusion with middlemen and agents, approved crop loans under the KCC scheme without verifying the ownership or visiting the agricultural lands. In some cases, such as with Lekh Raj and Dharm Chand, photographs used in the application belonged to the applicants, but the signatures on official loan documents were of other individuals.

AS Bodh, the then branch manager, approved loans without field verification and initiated charge creation on forged land documents.

Tashi Phunchog fabricated charge creation reports using fake land documents. Babli Sharma, responsible for facilitating customer services, verified and submitted false declarations about the applicants’ agricultural land holdings.

Lekh Raj and Dharm Chand allegedly submitted forged affidavits, ration cards and false KYC documents to avail loans of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.

According to audit reports, the total fraudulent disbursal exceeded Rs 1.83 crore. The ownership of agricultural land cited by applicants was found to be falsely recorded, as per the inquiry conducted by local patwaris (land revenue officials).