4 Kangra coop bank former directors surrender, held

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, March 20

Four former directors of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) were arrested by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau today.

The former directors, including Prakash Chand Rana, Yog Raj, Lekh Raj and Karnail Singh Rana, surrendered before Vigilance officials in Una and were arrested after their bail application was rejected by the High Court.

Given Rs65 cr to Crest Steel

• The accused were members of the loan sanctioning committee of the KCCB
• They had ignored all facts while sanctioning loan to Crest Steel
• The company defaulted on loans and about Rs 65 crore had now turned bad debt for KCCB

The Vigilance registered a case on March 17 under Sections 409, 420, 467 ,468, 471 of the IPC and 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Seven accused were Shivam Seth, director of Crest Steels in Una district, Chetan Negi, relative of a director of the KCCB, Sunita Seth, director of Crest Steels and the four former directors.

SP, Vigilance, Kangra, Balbir Thakur admitted that the former directors of the KCCB had surrendered and been arrested.

The accused were members of the loan sanctioning committee of the KCCB during the stint of the previous Congress government. They had ignored all facts while sanctioning loan to Crest Steel. The company defaulted on loans and the amount of about Rs 65 crore had now turned bad debt for KCCB, he said.

Sources said the role of some senior bureaucrats, who were serving in the bank the time loan was sanctioned, was also under the scanner. However, their names had not been included in the FIR.

The BJP had filed a ‘chargesheet’ against the previous Congress government, alleging corruption in many loans sanctioned by the KCCB.

After the BJP government came to power in the state, the inquiry into the allegations of corruption was entrusted to the Vigilance. The Vigilance officials had forwarded the findings to the government.

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