Three small and marginal farmers of Cuttack district on Friday afternoon tried to immolate themselves in front of the Odisha Assembly alleging that someone had taken loans from the cooperative bank fraudulently which forced them to repay the loan amount.
The farmers were attempting to douse themselves with kerosene when alert security personnel on duty in front of the Assembly building overpowered them. They alleged that some people had taken loans in their name from the Athagarh branch of the Cuttack Central Cooperative Bank using fraudulent means. As a result of such fraud, they were forced to repay the loan amount.
On Wednesday, several farmers in Athagarh area of Cuttack had staged a demonstration alleging loan irregularities in the Cuttack District Central Cooperative Bank. They had alleged that money to the tune of over Rs 1 crore was misappropriated from the bank accounts of several people in the district.
The victims alleged that Odisha Cooperation Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain’s brother, Birendra Pratap Swain had a role in the scam. Birendra was the president of the Cuttack Central Cooperative Bank. The farmers had staged a demonstration in connection with the incident in Athagarh on Wednesday. However, their allegations were not taken note of by the district collector.