The Communist Party of India (Marxist) will not protect its members on the committee of Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank, near Irinjalakuda, if they are found guilty in the loan scam, party district secretary M.M. Varghese has said.
“There is no place for those who commit fraud in the party. If they are found guilty they will be expelled from the party,” said Mr. Varghese here on Tuesday.
A loan scam of over ₹100 crore was reported at the bank, controlled by the CPI(M), on Monday. The police have registered a case against six persons, including the secretary of the bank. The secretary is under suspension.
An audit of the Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies found that loans were sanctioned on property pledged by local customers without their knowledge. Fake applications for loans were submitted. The loan amounts were credited multiple times to selected accounts.
Loans have been sectioned on 46 documents pledged at the bank. Customers came to know about the scam when they got notices on arrears on loan payment. More people have come up with complaints of cheating.
It is alleged that the CPI(M) knew about the scam much before. It is reported that the CPI(M) district committee, which received complaints, had appointed a two-member commission with former MP P.K. Biju and district secretariat member P.K. Shajan as members for inquiry. The commission found irregularities and recommended an inquiry against the committee members. The report was submitted two months ago. The report demanded action against the bank officials.
Secretary T.R. Sunil Kumar, an active CPI(M) worker, was kept under suspension in April.
A case has been registered against six persons — T.R. Sunil Kumar, branch manager M.K. Biju, senior accountant C.K. Jilse, commission agent A.K. Bijoy, accountant of a supermarket under the bank Raji Anil, and mediator Kiran, according to Irinjalakuda Circle Inspector M.J. Jijo.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have been staging protests in front of the bank and its branches alleging irregularities for some time. Local people had come up with allegations against the bank even in 2019.
Many depositors reached the bank demanding their deposits back as there were reports that the bank committee had been disbanded. However, Joint Registrar Mohanmon P. Joseph denied the news and said that the inquiry was progressing.
More allegations
More allegations have been raised against the bank. There is an allegation of ₹50-crore irregularity in the bank’s monthly deposit scheme. Irregularities have been reported in supermarkets at Mapranam, Karuvannur, and Moorkanad under the bank. It is reported that the audit showed irregularity of ₹1.50 crore in 2020 alone.
