Farmers in Maharashtra get recovery notice for bank loans they didn't take

The farmers suspect a man, who had taken documents from them on pretext of registration in some government scheme, may have forged their signatures to secure farm loans.

For representational purposes (File | Reuters)

NAGPUR: A group of farmers in Maharashtra has received bank notices for loan recovery of about Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh each though they claimed they have not taken any loan, prompting the police to launch a probe.

Crime Branch of the Nagpur Rural police has started an inquiry into complaints received from farmers of Sinzar village in Narkhed tehsil of Nagpur district, an official said today.

According to the police, 11 farmers have filed complaints with the Jalalkheda police station, stating they have received notices for "defaulting" on loans worth Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh each from a public sector bank.

However, the farmers claimed they have not taken any loan from the bank.

One of them, Prakash Gaikwad, told PTI over the phone that around 10 days back, his family received a bank notice for non-payment of instalments on a loan of about Rs 50 lakh.

Gaikwad and the other farmers suspect a man, who had taken documents from them on pretext of registration in some government scheme, may have misused them and also forged their signatures to secure farm loans on their behalf from the bank.

The man remains unidentified.

Inspector G R Tamte confirmed receiving complaints from 11 farmers.

"Considering the seriousness of the issue, the department has asked the local Crime Branchto inquire into the matter," said Tamte.

Sanjay Purandare, Inspector, Nagpur Rural Crime Branch, said, "We have started the inquiry into the complaints received from the farmers of Sinzar village."

"We will be probing all the stages involved in securing a bank loan like application process and verification of documents. All relevant information will be sought from the bank during the inquiry," he said.

Role of bank officials, if any, and whether there was any middleman will be known only after the inquiry is completed, Purandare said.