CUTTACK: Berhampur based Bharatiya Bikash Parishad (BBP) has filed a PIL in the Orissa High Court for an independent probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or CBI into the alleged multi-crore loan fraud in Athagarh Cooperative Bank of Cuttack district.
The PIL filed on Wednesday follows self-immolation bid by three farmers from Athagarh block outside the State Assembly on November 27. The farmers from Gurudijhatia area had tried to take the extreme step after running from pillar to post for intervention into repayment notices for loans they had not taken from the bank.
President of BBP Surendra Panigrahi filed the petition naming the Principal Secretary of Cooperation department, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Secretary of Cuttack Central Cooperative Bank, Deputy Registrar of Cuttack Cooperative Societies as respondents in the case.
According to the petition, some persons had fraudulently taken loans from the bank in the name of the three farmers. This came to their knowledge after they were forced to repay the loan amount.
The three farmers had taken loan of `9,000 to `10,000 or less than that individually in 2015-16 from the Athagarh branch. But they were being asked to repay loans of over ` 1 lakh. Blank cheques were also taken from many other farmers under different loan schemes and huge amounts of loan were drawn in their names, the petition alleged.