FIR against bank manager, headman & a woman
SHILLONG: More than 40 villagers in Mawkynrew constituency have alleged that the branch manager of Meghalaya Rural Bank in Smit, a headman and a woman cheated them by withdrawing lakhs of rupees as bank loans against their names.
Ridashisha Mylliempdah, a resident of one of five villages where people have suffered such fraud, told media persons that she was supposed to get Rs 10,000 from the bank as promised by headman Kyrshiej Nongrum.
Nongrum convinced her to open an account so that she could get the Rs 10,000 grant under a central scheme.
“The documents that I signed were in English and being uneducated, I had asked the headman and the general manager about the contents. They had asked me to open an account to get Rs 10,000 from the Central government and did not tell me that it was actually a loan from the bank,” said Mylliempdah and added that “out of gratitude”, she paid Rs 1,000 to the headman.
“But I never got the Rs 10,000,” the teary-eyed woman said.
Mylliempdah said she was surprised to know that hundreds of people from Mawiapbang, Rapleng, Laitdiengsai, Jongksha and Mawbeir would be duped by the trio – A. Kharmuti, branch manager, another woman by the name Timil Pyngrope and Nongrum.
But more surprises were in store for Mylliempdah. The woman, who choked while narrating her ordeal, said when she went to the bank to enquire about the Rs 10,000, she was told that she had taken a loan for piggery farm amounting to Rs 2.50 lakh.
“I went to meet the authorities of the bank who substantiated their claims by showing documents revealing that I have taken a loan of Rs 2.50 lakh. I have not come across such huge sum of money. It is my poverty that prompted me to sign the papers to get the grant of Rs 10,000,” she said.
The duped villagers claimed that the trio fraudulently withdrew around Rs 5 crore.
They approached SP (City) Vivek Syiem and filed an FIR against the trio.
The complainants said though only 40 villagers informed the SP about the fraudsters, there are hundreds who were allegedly duped by the three people
The police have conducted an investigation into the matter and no arrests were made.