KAKINADA:It came to light on Thursday that a trader had fraudulently availed loans amounting to Rs 25 crore from the Kakinada branch of Karnataka Bank when around 30 farmhands from Patha Isukapalli in U Kothapalli mandal of East Godavari district were served notices asking them to repay the loans.
As per the notices, loans of up to Rs 52 lakh were taken in each of their names in September 2017 and if they failed to repay soon, an additional five per cent interest would be charged.Kandrakota Lova Raju, one of the farmhands who received the notice, said he neither owned land nor had a house. “How can I seek loans? I haven’t laid eyes on so much money,” a shocked Raju told TNIE.Investigation revealed that all 30 farmhands worked for Chintapalli Soma Reddy for several years and used to take small loans from him.
A year ago, Reddy took their fingerprints on some documents. The illiterate farmhands were unaware of what Reddy was up to and did not question him as he gave them money to buy liquor.
Last September, Reddy took the papers with their signatures to the bank and sought loans for different purposes including the construction of a warehouse and processing paddy. On receiving the loans, Reddy threw a party for the farmhands and gave each of them between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000.Meanwhile, when asked how such huge loans could be given in the name of farmhands, the bank manager said they were handed out by his predecessor. No police complaint has been lodged yet.