Swindlers and fraudulent persons are not rare or scarce in our country. They have created networks, and remain connected with their co-professionals. It speaks a lot about the decadence of social consciousness and lack of character. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, moral values have taken downslide in our society once the first glorious phase of freedom, won after great struggle, was over. Should growth of economy lead to growth of aberrant practices also? Are these two phenomena complimentary to each other? Civil society needs to concentrate on these questions.
A bizarre case of fraud stands exposed in regard to much touted Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme floated by the Government with the purpose of providing need based and timely credit support to the farmers for their cultivation needs as well as non-farm activities and in cost effective manner. Banks issue Kisan Credit Cards to the farmers who are otherwise eligible for sanction of short term credit for crop production, allied activities and other non-farm activities. The farmers under the scheme are issued a credit card-cum-passbook incorporating the name, address, particulars of land holding, borrowing limit / sub-limits, validity period to facilitate recording of the transactions on an on-going basis.
Agricultural activities are the mainstay of India’s economy. A good rainy season assures good crops and that in turn promotes our economic viability and independence. However, there are seasons when monsoons fail us and our agrarian economy is disrupted adversely impacting the farmers and peasants. Under great strain, peasants driven to abject poverty and hunger commit suicide. This has become a matter of great concern for the Government and civil society. It was in this background that the Government contemplated, among other remedial measures, the option of introducing Kisan Credit Card scheme so that the peasants could take loan from the bank and invest in agrarian activities to bridge over the difficult times.
Ellaquai Dehati Bank in Pulwama in South Kashmir recently issued notices to about 50 persons asking them to return the loan they had taken from the bank under KCC scheme. This notice came to them like a bolt from the blue; it was a total surprise to them because they said they had never taken any loan from the bank and not even applied for it. How come they were issued notices to repay the loan? On inquiry by the police with which FIR has been lodged, it was revealed that all the fifty cases were fraudulent. Fake documents and photographs were produced in the bank and loans taken. We have not as yet the figures of the total loan given by the bank but serious questions arise in connection with this episode. In the first place, finger of doubt will be raised towards the functionaries of the said bank. The bank authorities are expected to subject bank loan applications to thorough scrutiny before loans are sanctioned. It seems that either the bank officials were criminally careless not to scrutinize the loan applications before passing these or that they were in collusion with the applicants and knew that the applications were fraudulent. In either case, the bank authorities have to bear the onus. Secondly, it should not be difficult for the police to arrest the fraudulent persons. It is also a mystery whether the bank officials contacted the loanees in between or not when a good deal of time had passed. Normally, there must have been a time frame within which the loan installment had to be paid back to the bank. Did the bank contact the persons in question and make enquiries about repayment of loan?
We strongly emphasize the Crime Organization to go after the fraudulent persons whether at the said bank or outside, arrest the culprits and prosecute them in a court of law. It is not only a case of fraud but also a blatant anti-national act in which people who genuinely deserve to be provided support are denied and the money is diverted to wrong destination. The culprits deserve exemplary punishment and we are hopeful Government is sensitive about it. Crime Department shall have to do thorough probing into those banks as well.
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