The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bhubaneswar wing, which is probing the alleged gold loan fraud worth Rs 13.22 crore at the Odisha Gramya Bank’s Dumuduma branch here, took branch manager (BM) Kalindi Charan Nayak and Shibani Builders owner Ratikanta Kanungo in seven days’ remand on Friday.
The CBI sleuths had arrested Kanungo and Nayak while conducting raid at eight different places on Thursday in the city as part of its investigation process. The two were interrogated at the CBI office regarding their involvement in the fraud. After the duo’s health checkup at the Capital Hospital, the CBI forwarded them to court and then brought them in remand.
“On the basis of prima facie evidence against the duo, the CBI had conducted raid on Thursday and arrested them,” said CBI’s senior public prosecutor Kalicharan Mishra.
The officials had also conducted simultaneous raids on the residences of Nakul Parida, Bijan Sahoo, Anil Kumar Das, Purusottam Sahoo and Suryanarayan Sahoo, who according to bank records, had taken loans to the tune of Rs 13.22 crore from the bank’s Dumduma branch by mortgaging fake gold jewellery in December 2012.
The sleuths are inquiring about the property details of the bank officials and the five persons who raised the loans by mortgaging imitation gold jewellery weighing 66 kg.
Notably, the fraud came to light during a joint routine inspection in December last and then Odisha Gramya Bank general manager (Head Office) SK Mishra had suspended Dumduma BM Nayak and removed gold appraiser Manabhanjan Sahoo for the offence as the duo was the prime suspects.
Gold appraiser Sahoo is absconding. The CBI inquiry into the case is on and the culprits would be arrested very soon, official sources said.