Muzaffarpur July 26: More than 50 branches of North Bihar Kshetriya Gramin Bank in Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sheohar districts are reeling from Maoist threats.

There are 164 branches of the bank in these three districts. Sources at the regional office at Muzaffarpur said 28 branches in Paroo, Minapur, Taryani, Runnisaidpur and Parihar blocks are the worst-hit.

The branches of the bank in Paroo, Deoriya, Minapur, Katra and Sahebganj blocks in Muzaffarpur, Runnisaidpur, Belsand, Riga and Sursand blocks in Sitamarhi and Taryani, Parihar and Bathnaha blocks in Sheohar districts face constant threat from the Naxalites.

According to sources, the rebels frequently visit these branches and exert pressure on employees, including branch managers, to provide various loans. There is no police protection for these banks and the village chowkidars (watchmen) are inefficient in providing protection.

Sources said the Maoists, at the behest of villagers, issue threats to managers and employees seeking favour for loans. The villagers hand-in-glove with the rebels, too, put pressure on the employees to grant agriculture and small-scale industry loans, Kisan Credit Cards, opening Indira Awaas Yojana accounts and others by violating prescribed rules, said a bank manager posted in Sheohar district.

The chief manager of North Bihar Kshetriya Gramin Bank, P.K. Jain, said his office had received numerous complaints from managers regarding frequent intimidation by the rebels. Normally, the complaints are forwarded to the police and administrative officers concerned.

The senior superintendent of police, Muzaffarpur, Rajesh Kumar, told The Telegraph that he had asked the station house officers of the affected blocks to conduct regular patrolling and verification of suspicious customers at the bank.

The chairman of North Bihar Kshetriya Gramin Bank, R.K. Arora, has sent a letter to the zonal inspector-general of police, Gupteshwar Pandey, demanding action against people threatening the employees.