Five persons were arrested by the Economics Offences Wing (EOW) of the State Crime Branch on Tuesday for their alleged role in a Rs 2.96-crore bank fraud, which took place in the Balihat branch of the Odisha Gramya Bank in Cuttack district in 2011-12.
The accused were identified as Dillip Kumar Hota, Narahari Jena, Santosh Kumar Biswal, Prakash Rath and Bibekananda Biswal, all from the Patkura area in Kendrapada district.
The EOW had started an investigation into the matter after getting a complaint from the General Manager (Vigilance) of the Odisha Gramya Bank on December 27 last year.
The GM had alleged that a fraud took place in the Balihat branch with 148 fake loans worth Rs 2.96 crore sanctioned and disbursed fraudulently under the KGB personal loan scheme in 2011-12.
During the investigation, the EOW officials found the loans were sanctioned by accepting forged documents and showing the beneficiaries as teachers of different schools.
The accused were forwarded to court in afternoon.
Notably, on December 28, 2013, the EOW had arrested four more persons, including a former Branch Manager and a field officer of the bank.