Defaulter friend leaves cop in lurch

Lending a helping hand to a friend is a noble thought, but it may have its pitfalls.

Head constable Sanjay Bhosale found this out the hard way. Bhosale, posted at the local arms department of the Mumbai police, agreed to stand as a guarantor for a loan his friend had taken. However, the Malad resident was in for a rude shock.

His bank account was frozen after his friend defaulted on repaying the loan.

Bhosale’s friend Ramesh Tiwari had taken a loan of Rs2.5 lakh from a co-operative body about five years ago.

He returned Rs1.3 lakh, but couldn’t repay the remaining amount as he ran into financial trouble. He then allegedly fled after selling his property at Poisar that was kept as collateral.

In November 2009, the co-operative body got an attachment order and requested Axis Bank to freeze Bhosale’s salary account as he was guarantor for Tiwari's loan.

Unaware of all this, in January this year, Bhosale approached the Prabhadevi branch of the bank after he was unable to withdraw money from his account. He was then informed that his account had been frozen.

Earlier this month, Bhosale again approached the bank to allow him to use his account, but was turned down.

“I am forced to borrow money from friends to run my household. How can I survive without my salary?” a visibly upset Bhosale told Hindustan Times.

Claiming that he was willing to pay the outstanding amount, Bhosale said, “I just want to know if they have the authority to freeze my salary account completely.

Deduct a little sum every month and at least leave some money for me to run my family.”

Officials from Axis Bank did not respond to several emails sent to them on the matter.