J&K Bank mute over Mendhar fraud worth Crores, staffers fear hushing-up of case

VIVEK SHARMA

JAMMU: Aghast over covert attempts of diluting the damage caused to the reputation of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) in the wake of sensational fraud committed by well-knit gang after opening a fake account of the so-called National Horticulture Mission in Mendhar Branch, the officers and the staffers fear the case to be hushed up and the amount advanced to fraudsters waived off to save the organization from the Non Productive Assets (NPA).

Why not this scandal be transferred to CBI? employees ask

Talking to STATE TIMES, several employees said that the first reaction of the management should have been to file an FIR with the concerned police station and press for a probe, ideally by the Central Bureau of Investigation. That such an action has not been taken yet, the motive is evident that the Bank does not want to pursue the matter for the sake of its credibility. This will be ‘suicidal’ as the fraudsters and the executives may get emboldened and motivated to carry on their sinister scams.
“Had any such lapse been committed by ‘non-influential’ officers or staffers, they would have been held responsible for the NPA and delivered exemplary punishments”, a staffer told STATE TIMES on the condition of anonymity. He said the Mendhar fraud is extraordinary and nobody knows how deep it has spread its tentacles in the peripheral areas and even in the other districts. Only a fair and independent probe will unveil the facts as to how the Bank was taken for a ride by opening an account on e-mail by a bogus organisation, projected as a public sector institution, he added. Another staffer said the modus-opernadi adopted by the fraudsters indicates the involvement of insiders, who cannot absolve themselves of the responsibility. The nexus seems deep and widespread as the mystery remained wrapped for months together. Despite the expose, the Bank has not come forward to reassure its clientele about their investments to be safe and action against the gangsters.
STATE TIMES had on December 19 reported an exclusive story ‘Over Rs 15 Crores embezzled from J&K Bank; car loans on fictitious salary slips’ on the fraud with the fraudsters duping the Bank of crores of rupees by adopting an innovative mechanism.
An executive feared that there might be similar other frauds which need to be probed by intensifying internal audit mechanisms and deputation of specially formulated teams to vulnerable branches.
An account in the name of National Horticulture Mission was opened through an e-mail last year in Mendhar Branch of the J&K Bank as a government account, which started operating with deposits of lakhs of rupees purportedly from the government. Consequently around 40 more individual bank accounts of the employees were opened and the salaries from the main account were transferred to the account of each employee. After a few months, the employees, though fictitious, used their salary slips and bank statements, applied for car loans from various J&K Bank branches at Rajouri, Gangyal, Jammu University Campus and Shalamar Road in Jammu. The loans were approved and luxury cars were purchased by the so-called employees. An Audi car purchased on loan from Jammu landed in probe as one of loanees stopped paying installments after two months and subsequently on initial inquiry the loanee’s address also turned out to be fictitious. On initial probe, other loanees’ addresses too were found to be fake. This raised eyebrows of J&K Bank’s management which started an internal probe and found that the main account was also fictitious. There is no such organisation under name and style “National Horticulture Mission,” being run by the UT or central government. The Vigilance cell is now making all out efforts to gather all the evidences while the Bank management has not so far decided to handover the case to police for detailed probe and fix the responsibility of bank officers and to book the fraudsters, who used fake documents to embezzle over Rs 15 Crore.
However, the Bank management continues to be tightlipped over this major scandal. According to latest reports, the matter has not been brought to the notice of law enforcing agencies after lodging an FIR.