CBI arrests two Ratnakar Bank officials on graft charge
The Hindu
The accused demanded ₹1 crore for issuing certificates for a Govt. scheme
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two officials of the Ratnakar Bank Limited (RBL) for allegedly demanding and receiving bribe from a person for issuing the certificates required to get subsidy for agri-term loans taken under a Government scheme.
The accused have been identified as Nimesh Manger, regional head of the bank's agro unit in Ahmedabad and Saurabh Bhasin, the recovery head posted in Pune.
The complainant, Sunil Prabhudas Patel, is engaged in farming protected agriculture product. He, along with his 12 family members, had applied for loans with the bank under the “Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management of Horticulture Crops” scheme introduced by the National Horticulture Board of the Centre.
A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.