The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police apprehended Pradipta Kumar Lenka from Bhubaneswar for his involvement in a Rs 6.88 crore bank loan fraud case. Lenka, a resident of Cuttack, was taken into custody based on a complaint lodged by Shiba Sundar Sahoo, Regional Manager of the State Bank of India (SBI), RBO, Bhubaneswar. The complaint alleged that Lenka and others orchestrated a scheme to secure 282 Xpress Credit Loans fraudulently from various SBI branches between May 2022 and November 2023.
The accused individuals, in collusion with Lenka, obtained these loans by submitting falsified employment records from companies like Tata Steel Ltd., TPCODL, Vedanta Ltd., Dhamra Port, and Aarati Steels Ltd. These records included fabricated salary certificates, employment details, bank statements, and KYC documents. Subsequently, the borrowers defaulted on the EMIs, resulting in the loans turning into non-performing assets (NPAs) with an outstanding amount of Rs 6,88,29,323. Lenka, identified as a middleman, allegedly diverted Rs 3.23 lakh from the loan accounts for personal gain.
Investigations revealed that Lenka played a pivotal role in creating counterfeit documents for financial benefits. Earlier, three bank officials and another individual were arrested in connection with the case and are presently in judicial custody. The EOW has seized significant evidence, including a mobile handset, to further probe the fraud.
