E-Paper
IIA president meets Meerut MP, seeks justice for businessman who wants to end life
The businessman, Praveen Kumar Jain is upset that his bank remained indifferent to his request for providing him an opportunity to settle loan through the ‘one time settlement’ scheme and instead opted to sell off his factory and property at half of the market price without intimating him.
A prominent city businessman has made an unusual request to the authorities.
He has sought permission to end his and his family member’s life.
The businessman, Praveen Kumar Jain is upset that his bank remained indifferent to his request for providing him an opportunity to settle loan through the ‘one time settlement’ scheme and instead opted to sell off his factory and property at half of the market price without intimating him.
Jain also met Meerut MP Rajendra Agarwal, along with a delegation of Indian Industries Association (IIA) on Monday in this connection.
IIA’s Meerut Chapter president Sumnesh Agarwal said that he along with Pankaj Gupta, former national president of IIA, and treasurer of Meerut chapter Rajeev Agarwal briefed BJP MP about Jain’s case.
“The MP has assured him of raising the issue with the chairman of Punjab National Bank (PNB), the bank which decided to sell his factory and properties. He has also assured the businessman of taking up the issue with finance minister Nirmala Sitharamanm,” he said.
A senior PNB officer, requesting anonymity, claimed that ample opportunities were given to Jain since 2016 to settle the case and recovery that was later initiated was as per rules.
Praveen Jain later said he had started his business in 1982 with ₹10000 and by 2013, his business turnover was worth ₹60 crore.
Jain made cooler, air conditioner and deep fridge which he exported in 17 countries, earning foreign currency.
“My business turnover would have touched ₹100 crore if the bank had accepted my request to raise credit limit from ₹6 crore to ₹10 crore,” Jain claimed.
He said that his account turned Non-Performing Asset (NPA) on September 30 in 2016 and he had an outstanding of ₹15.31 crore.
He claimed that the bank sold one of his properties, worth ₹4 crore in just ₹2.03 crore during Covid period and adjusted the amount in the interest of the outstanding. He claimed that banks don’t calculate interest on an NPA account. He claimed that he had met bank’s senior officials in Delhi and Meerut and offered them property of worth ₹13 crore to settle the matter through OTS and even deposited ₹1.5 crore.
However, he alleged that the bank sold his factory, which is situated in Bhagwanpur, Uttarakhand, worth ₹12 crore in ₹8.5 crore on August 26, 2022 without his knowledge.
“I am still ready to pay to the bank to settle the issue because my material and machines, worth ₹5 crore, are still lying in the factory,” he added.
“At present, I am left with no issue but to end my life,” he said adding that he wanted to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath to tell them about injustice meted out to him.
Caption: A delegation of IIA meeting MP Rajendra Aggarwal.
