The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha has arrested a New Delhi-based chartered accountant for his alleged nexus in the fraudulent disbursal of Rs. 6.18 crore loan from a Bhubaneswar-based nationalized bank five years back.

The accused identified as Neeraj Kumar, a resident of Bindapur, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi was arrested and was produced before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in New Delhi. Kumar was brought on transit remand to Bhubaneswar on Monday and will be produced before the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Bhubaneswar, EOW said in a statement.

The statement quoting case records said “Paresh Kumar Das, Circle Head, Punjab National Bank, Bhubaneswar registered a complaint against accused Kali Prasad Mishra, Proprietor of M/s K.P. Solutions and others on the allegation that the accused person availed Cash Credit (CC) loan for working capital to the tune of Rs 250 lakhs on 24.10.2017 from Punjab National Bank, Bapuji Nagar Branch, Bhubaneswar by using fake and forged documents and mortgaging landed properties as collateral security, recorded in the names of someone else without the knowledge of the land owners”.

Kumar being a chartered accountant and previous employee of PNB, was still exercising his clout to sit in the PNB, Bapuji Nagar Branch, in connivance with PNB officials and was facilitating, processing, sanctioning the bank loans often by devious means by impersonating the dead persons as guarantor, by mortgaging the property of others beyond their knowledge, using forged documents as genuine etc.

Investigation also revealed that the arrested accused Kumar, a qualified Chartered Accountant was working in Punjab National Bank during the year 2013 to 2016 as Manager, Credit, in Saheed Nagar Branch Bhubaneswar and had entered into criminal conspiracy with another accused Birendra Kumar Pattanaik, the then Chief Manager in the same branch.

It also revealed that Neeraj Kumar resigned from PNB during the year 2016 and after his resignation he used to sit in PNB, Bapuji Nagar Branch posing as a Bank official in which accused Birendra Kumar Pattanaik was the Chief Manager and was actively engaged in facilitating and arranging loans to the tune of Crores from PNB, Bapuji Nagar Branch.

The accused persons have also adopted similar modus operandi in sanctioning loan of Rs.3.5 Crores in favour of one M/s Lingaraj Enterprises against mortgage of residential duplexes of the complainant – Prasant Kumar Mohaptra without his knowledge.

Earlier, Kali Prasad Mishra, Prop of M/s K P Solutions, Srikant Prasad Prusty, the then Senior Manager, Credit, PNB Bapuji Nagar, Birendra Kumar Pattnaik, the then Chief Manager , Narendra Nayak, the then Manager , both of Bapuji Nagar Branch, PNB, Bhubaneswar and Prakash Kumar Behera MD/Directors of M/s Ubique Multitech Private Limited, M/s Aziel Trading And Marketing Pvt Ltd were arrested in the fraud case.