Karnataka: BJP netas forge farmers signatures

GULBARGA: While mounting loans have been driving farmers to suicides in the country, a few farmers in villages including Telkur in Sedam taluk in Gulbarga district received recovery notices from the bank for loans that they had not taken in the first place.It has now come to light that this is the result of a Rs 20-crore fraud, involving some local BJP leaders, who colluded with some staffers of the Sedam branch of Canara Bank.  Sources on condition of anonymity told The New Indian Express on Tuesday that a few months ago, some BJP leaders of Sedam taluk made about 110 farmers from villages near Sedam town, including Telkur, open bank accounts in the Sedam branch of Canara Bank.Later, these leaders forged signatures of the farmers and availed loans in collusion with some bank officials based on fake documents showing farm produce in godowns at Sedam and Gulbarga.After a while, the bank issued routine recovery notices to the farmers. The shocked farmers rushed to the bank and told officials that neither had they pledged their produce nor had they taken loans. Hence the question of the repayment did not arise.The Canara Bank head office reported the matter to the Reserve Bank of India and since the amount involved was more than `1 crore, the RBI referred the matter to CBI for investigation, sources said.According to sources, CBI sleuths have already started investigations and have inquired with bank officials in the villages.When contacted, divisional manager of the main branch of Canara Bank at Gulbarga Habib Rakuman confirmed the CBI was investigating the fraud but refused to give details. Though the CBI has been investigating the case for months, the matter was under wraps.