Bhubaneswar, April 3: CBI officials today arrested two persons, including a hotelier, in connection with a loan fraud. Hotelier Chitta Ranjan Mallik, 45, and his associate Sourya Ranjan Behera, 35, were arrested for forging documents and taking a Rs 5.37 crore loan from the secretariat branch of a nationalised bank.
Officials said the fraud took place between May 2005 and August 2011. Behera had taken a loan of Rs 45.89 lakh from the bank in the name of his transport company, which did not exist.
Later, two bank officials, in a nexus with Behera, had raised the cash credit amount to Rs 1.98 crore and later increased the credit limit further to Rs 4.1 crore.
The matter came to light after the bank officials found inordinate delay in repayment of the loan.
On June 19 last year, the bank registered a case with the CBI against Behera and two assistant general managers.
Investigations revealed that Behera worked as an accountant in a mining company owned by the younger brother of Chitta Ranjan Mallik, the mastermind behind the fraud.
“Investigations revealed that Mallik had floated a number of fake business firms and had taken a number of loans. He had repaid another loan through the loan taken from the secretariat branch of the nationalised bank,” said a CBI official.
The investigating agency is also investigating the possible involvement of other bank officials in the fraud.
“Mallik opened a number of fake bank accounts in the name of his relatives. We are trying to ascertain whether Chitta had taken any other loan fraudulently,” said a CBI official.
“The accused were produced in a CBI court here and were remanded in CBI custody for interrogation,” said senior public prosecutor Kalicharan Mishra.