Patna, Sept. 2: Arrested Punjab National Bank manager B.K. Choudhary was running a mini-bank at his home, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has unearthed.
Choudhary, 45, the manager of the Dulhin Bazaar branch of the bank, was arrested yesterday while accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 for issuing a Kisan Credit Card.
While conducting a raid on Choudhary’s house in Khajpura yesterday evening, CBI officers stumbled upon the mini-bank that the manager was operating from his home. Files related to disbursement of loans to farmers and unemployed youth were found in this bank, which had a select group of customers.
“We were surprised to find more than 50 files related to loan disbursement in a room. This room was used by the bank manager to run a parallel bank,” said a member of the CBI team that carried out the raid. He added that 54 files and Rs 1.76 lakh were seized during the raid.
Sources said the manager had deputed his wife, Damayanti Devi, to collect money on his behalf. “After a deal was clinched, the manager asked the loan-seekers to hand over the money to his wife at his house,” an investigating officer said.
The manager adopted the modus operandi after one loan-seeker warned him about a possible CBI trap. “Since then he never accepted a bribe in a public place. He used to instruct people to deposit money at his house,” said the sleuth.
He added: “All files seized during the raid are under the scrutiny of the agency. The bank official’s wife was also taken into custody. She was, however, later released on a personal bond.”
Choudhary, a resident of Nalanda, was produced in the CBI court today from where he was remanded to judicial custody in the Beur Central Jail.
The CBI headquarters in Patna had received a number of complaints against bank officials demanding bribe for issuing Kisan Credit Cards or sanctioning a loan. “After preliminary inquiry, a trap team was set up and the operation carried out,” the officer said.
Two teams were constituted to nab Choudhary. While one was deputed at the Dulhin Bazaar branch of the bank, another was deployed at Choudhary’s rented house.
