Rs 5 Cr J&K Bank Loan Scam: CB files supplementary chargesheet against 7 accused
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The Crime Branch (Economic Offences Wing), Jammu, on Saturday filed a supplementary chargesheet in Rs 5-crore JK Bank loan scam.
The chargesheet names seven persons, including a former bank manager, who has since been demoted, and several individuals who posed as government officials to fraudulently obtain loans.
As per CB official, the accused named in the supplementary chargesheet are Jatinder Singh, the then J&K Bank Manager (Scale-II) at Rajouri Branch, now demoted, son of Dharampal Sharma, resident of Narwal Bala, Jammu; Waqar Ahmed, a fake Junior Engineer, son of Abdul Ghani from Chandak Dingla, Poonch; Zaheer Ahmed, posing as JE in RDD, son of Mohd Munshi, resident of Ari Mendhar, Poonch; Zafar Iqbal, a fake Horticulture Technician-II in Water Shed, RDD Poonch, son of Mohd Younis, Ari Mendhar; Mohd Shakeel, a fake Horticulture Technician-I in IWMP, RDD Poonch, son of Said Mohd, resident of Nowshera, Rajouri; Mohd Shafiq, fake Horticulture Technician-II, son of Mohd Munshi, Ari Mendhar; and Saleem Yousuf Bhatti, a terminated contractual employee of IWMP, son of Mohd Yousaf Bhatti, from Narol, Mendhar, Tehsil Poonch.
Among the seven, two main conspirators—Jatinder Singh and Saleem Yousuf Bhatti—are currently in jail, while the remaining five accused have been granted bail, an official said.
Notably, this supplementary chargesheet follows an earlier preliminary chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch against four other accused in the same case, namely Mohd Altaf, Ruksana Tabassum, Zahida Parveen, and Saleem Yousuf Bhatti, the official added.
“The case was initiated following a complaint by Mohd Shakeel, Chief Manager of Strategy & Coordination Division, Zonal Office, J&K Bank, Jammu. He alleged that Saleem Yousuf Bhatti and others had fraudulently revived inactive accounts of the Water Shed Committee at the Lassana Branch in Surankote, Poonch. The accused had altered the nomenclature of these accounts and issued fake salary certificates and employment confirmation letters to fictitious individuals,” the official said.
Using these fraudulent documents, official added, the accused managed to secure various bank loans—personal loans, car loans, and cash credit—from multiple J&K Bank branches by posing as legitimate government employees.
In addition, official said, they opened fraudulent accounts at Mendhar Branch and Bus Stand Mendhar Branch. They deposited funds from different sources into these fake accounts and used forged authority letters instructing the bank to disburse salaries into the personal accounts of the accused, thereby facilitating the scam, official added.
As a result of this elaborate and well-coordinated operation, the accused succeeded in fraudulently acquiring approximately Rs 5 crore in loans, causing a substantial financial loss to the bank.
The Crime Branch has cited extensive documentary evidence, fake appointment letters, salary slips, and manipulated bank transactions to substantiate the involvement of the accused.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch Jammu, Benam Tosh, confirmed that the supplementary chargesheet in case FIR No. 86/2023 has been filed before the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court for Rajouri and Poonch districts at Rajouri.
He stated that the investigation was led by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and involved a meticulous process of gathering evidence and corroborating facts.
SSP Tosh remarked that the Crime Branch is committed to ensuring that all individuals involved in this financial fraud are brought to justice. The case is now pending further judicial proceedings, and the court will determine the legal accountability of each of the accused named in the scam.
