A man has been arrested by Badabazar Police in Ganjam district on charges of duping nearly 25 persons to the tune of Rs 4 crore through various loan schemes.
The accused, Gupteshwar Pattnayak who was arrested on Saturday has been accused of swindling money issued to the victims by Andhra Bank. It is alleged that Gupteshwar along with the then Branch Manager of Andhra Bank (now Union Bank), Neelakantha Nagar Brach cheated the victims by making them sign on blank forms and cheques.
The accused was arrested based on the written complaint filed by one Sudhanshu Sekhar Padhy. The complainant alleged that Gupteshwar had helped him to avail a term loan of Rs 10 lakh from the bank by mortgaging his land in September 2018.
Subsequently, Gupteshwar introduced him to the branch manager and persuaded him to take a housing loan assuring low rate of interest. Later, both the accused and the then branch manager made him to sign some forms.
The fraud came to light after the complainant received a legal notice from the bank asking him to repay the loan of Rs 24 lakh issued in his name in 2019. The complainant alleged that that he never received the loan amount in his account.
“I have not cheated anybody,” the accused claimed.
Berhampur SDPO, Bishnu Prasad Pati said, “The accused along with the Branch Manager have committed the fraud and we are further investigating the matter.”