Bhubaneswar: Vigilance sleuths on Saturday arrested Srinivas Mantri, secretary of Ostia Service Cooperative Society (SCS) under Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Saranda branch, for allegedly misappropriating loan repayment funds to the tune of Rs 11.83 lakh.
Mantri, who served at the Banki branch in Cuttack district, was taken into custody on Saturday following an investigation into complaints from farmers about irregularities in their loan repayment records.
According to vigilance officials, Mantri systematically siphoned off loan repayments made by 59 farmers over a two-year period. The investigation revealed that while farmers regularly repaid their crop loans, Mantri deliberately failed to record these transactions in the organisation’s day book and official registers.
“The fraud came to light when several farmers noticed discrepancies in their loan records and reported the matter to vigilance authorities. Our preliminary investigation suggests the number of affected farmers could be higher than currently known,” said a senior vigilance officer. “The Odisha Vigilance has registered a case at the Cuttack Vigilance Police Station under Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code,” reads a vigilance statement.
“This is a serious breach of trust by a banking official who exploited his position to defraud hardworking farmers. We are conducting a thorough investigation to uncover the full extent of the misappropriation,” the officer added. The investigation is going on, the vigilance said, urging other potential victims to come forward with information.