The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case of bribery against the Branch Manager of the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Dahanu, Palghar for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 40,000 from the complainant as illegal gratification for disbursal of his MSME Loan of Rs 10 lakh.
A complaint was received by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Unit of the CBI, Mumbai from a Palghar resident. "It is alleged in the complaint that the complainant had applied for Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) in the year 2019 in the name of his firm.
"The complainant received a communication that a loan of Rs 10 lakh is sanctioned to him and the same would be disbursed from the IOB. When the complainant visited the bank for enquiry of his loan status on April 08, this year, and met Kuldeep Sharma, Branch Manager of the Bank, Sharma explained opening of a saving bank account, the Processing Charges, Stamp Duty charges to the complainant and asked the complainant to submit the required documents," the CBI official stated.
He added, "The complainant again visited the bank on May 11 for completing his formalities. During the meeting, Kuldeep Sharma, informed the complainant that his loan of Rs 10 lakh has already been sanctioned and demanded a bribe amount of Rs 40,000 from him for disbursal of the MSME loan."
The complainant has completed all the legal formalities, which are required for the processing of his MSME loan under PMEGP Scheme as explained by Sharma. However, since Sharma allegedly demanded a bribe, the complainant, who did not want to give the bribe, approached the CBI and filed a written complaint against Sharma, officials said.
"Verification of the allegations made by the complainant has revealed that Kuldeep Sharma had demanded a bribe of Rs 40,000 from the complainant as illegal gratification for disbursal of his MSME Loan of Rs 10 lakh. The accused public servant has been booked under section 7 (Public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of The Prevention of Corruption Act," said the official.
