The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court has hauled the Maharashtra govt over the coals for delaying probe into Rs 150 crore Nagpur district central cooperative bank scam allegedly involving top politicians, reports Times of India.
The court also sought to know the status of criminal proceedings pending against Congress MLA Sunil Kedar, who was chairman of the bank when the scam broke.
A petitioner moved the court praying immediate appointment of an inquiry officer and completing the probe within a month contending that Supreme Court had dismissed Kedar’s plea praying for inclusion of NABARD and cooperatives registrar in re-inquiry ordered against him.
In July last year, the high court rejected Kedar’s petition for extension of stay on enquiry. It granted six months extension to former inquiry officer Surendra Kharbade, appointed by the Maharashtra government, to probe the scam. Accordingly, Kharbade issued notices to all 27 accused, including Kedar.
Over a decade ago, Nafed, in collaboration with banks, had provided Rs 235 crore to the Swarup Group, without any collaterals, for exporting iron-ore.
It is worth mentioning that Nafed stood guarantor to unsecured loans of Rs 3,900 crore availed by 29 private companies for undertaking exports in agricultural and non-agricultural items during 2003-2006. As several of these debtors including the Swarup Group defaulted, the onus of interest payment fell on Nafed.