Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary K.K. Abraham, the prime accused in the loan fraud case at the Pulpally Service Cooperative Bank, resigned from his post on Friday.
On Wednesday, Mr. Abraham, former president of the bank, was arrested and remanded in custody for 14 days in connection with the death of Rajendran Nair, 55, a complainant in the bank loan fraud case.
He was charged under Sections 42 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (an illegal act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. K.T. Rama Devi, former secretary of the bank, was also arrested.
Mr. Abraham submitted his resignation letter to KPCC president K. Sudhakaran. It was reported that the KPCC was preparing to initiate disciplinary action against him. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) submitted a chargesheet in the Vigilance court at Thalassery on Friday in connection with the alleged loan fraud.
Allegations
Relatives of Rajendran Nair said that he had taken a loan of nearly ₹73,000 from the bank in 2017 by mortgaging 70 cents of land, but, as per the bank records, the amount borrowed was ₹25 lakh. Many loanees, including Rajendran Nair, had complained that the former governing council had swindled the rest of the money. They had staged a protest in front of the bank demanding a Vigilance probe into the issue.
Suo motu case
Vigilance investigation into complaints regarding misappropriation and loan fraud through benami transactions at the financial institution began in 2019. Ten people are named in the chargesheet, including the bank president, a few members of the governing body, and employees of the bank. The Kerala Human Rights Commission had registered a suo motu case in connection with the alleged suicide of the farmer.
