CHENNAI: R Sivakumar assumed that his bike was stolen when it went missing in March 2021. However, a few months later he learnt that his bike was stolen by employees from the same bank he had taken the loan for it. Almost 18 months after Sivakumar uncovered the crime, Valasaravakkam police have booked six employees of the bank.
Sivakumar had purchased the motorbike in May 2019 after paying a down payment of Rs 51,890 and took loan from the bank's branch at Teynampet and paid Rs 6,027 every month for the next 1.5 years. “I paid all dues by December 2020. Three months later, on March 3, 2021, my bike was stolen from Alwarthirunagar,” said Sivakumar.
On December 20, 2021, nine months after the theft, he traced his vehicle after receiving a traffic violation message. “One Nassar who was driving my bike did not wear a helmet and the challan came to my number. Nassar also had provided the original RC book to the police, which was shocking because I still have the registration under my name,” said Sivakumar.
Nassar informed Sivakumar that he had bought the vehicle from Parthiban through an online portal. Parthiban purchases seized vehicles from banks and sells them after refurbishing the RC. "Turns out, the bank staff had taken my vehicle without my knowledge and forged my signature into transferring the ownership. I contacted the RTO and blocked the RC book," said Sivakumar
He also lodged a complaint on the ombudsman portal, which is monitored by RBI. The bank staff contacted Sivakumar and claimed that there was a technical error and they believed that he did not pay the EMI.
"They provided me with a compensation of Rs 90,000, but I declined the offer since I decided to take the issue to consumer court. The bank staff called me to a place and threatened me into accepting the compensation," said Sivakumar. Six bank employees have been booked under various IPC sections.
The New Indian Express reached out to an accused, but he refused to comment. A query has been sent to the bank regarding the same.