Rs 74 cr ‘bank fraud’: CBI book Akali leader, his firms, 13 others in Faridkot

According to the FIRs, CBI had received two written complaints from the chief manager of PNB Faridkot Navjinder Singh

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked an Akali leader, two of his rice sheller companies and 13 others for allegedly defrauding Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 74 crore.

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The CBI has lodged two separate FIRs after an investigation was conducted by superintendent of police and head of branch, ACB, Chandigarh, Akhilesh Kumar Chaurasia, against rice mills Golden Agrarian Pvt Ltd in Faridkot, Amyra Foods in Lambi, and its directors under Sections 120B, 420, 406 and 403 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 at the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) of CBI in Chandigarh.

Akali leader and former chairman of Faridkot Improvement Trust Harinderjit Singh Samra, his wife Bhupinder Kaur, sons Rajveer Singh Samra and Sukhveer Singh Samra and Malkiat Singh who are directors of these companies and 10 others who were guarantors are booked by the CBI.

The PNB alleged that the accused disposed of the rice stock, the prime security with the bank, without prior intimation or approval thereby causing a wrongful loss to the tunes of Rs 74 crore.

In the first complaint, the bank alleged Golden Agrarian Pvt Ltd and its directors Malkiat Singh and Harinderjit Singh Samra have committed a fraud which caused Rs 47 crore loss to the bank. CBI booked Malkiat, Samra, his sons, his wife, Samra Ice and Gen Mills, Everest Industries, State Agri Warehousing Colleteral Management Ltd, five others and unknown public servants in the case.

In the second complaint, PNB claimed that Amyra Foods Pvt Ltd in Muktsar and its directors Rajveer Samra and Bhupinder Kaur committed fraud causing Rs 27.12 crore loss to the bank. An FIR was lodged against Amyra Foods, its directors and 10 others.

The chief manager of PNB, in his report, also stated that during internal inquiry it was found that grave irregularities were committed by the then branch head Hira Lal and the then deputy manager Jaspreet Singh.