CBI arrests Punjab National Bank manager in Agra bribery case

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested a manager of the Punjab National Bank’s Bhadrauli branch in Agra’s Barhan, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with an alleged bribery case.

According to the CBI, the case was registered on June 25 based on a complaint filed by an employee of a private company. It was alleged that the bank manager demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 7,000 per loan file to process and clear around 19 solar panel loan applications.

The complainant alleged that after negotiations, the accused agreed to accept a total bribe of Rs 52,000 to clear the 19 loan files, which had already been sanctioned by the bank.

Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught the accused manager red-handed while allegedly demanding and accepting a partial payment of the bribe amounting to Rs 30,000 from the complainant.

The accused was arrested on June 25 and is scheduled to be produced before a competent court in Ghaziabad on Friday. Further investigation into the case is underway.

In a related development on Thursday, June 25, the CBI held a coordination meeting with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Chief Vigilance Officers of public sector banks, IDBI Bank, and the Life Insurance Corporation of India regarding measures to expedite investigations into bank fraud cases, according to an official statement.

The meeting was attended by Department of Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Lohiya, CBI Additional Directors A.Y.V. Krishna and N. Venu Gopal, Joint Directors of the CBI, and DFS Joint Secretaries Shalini Pandit, Ashish Madhaorao More, and Manoj Muttathil Ayyappan, along with other officials.

“During the day-long meeting, several issues, including previous approvals under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, sanctions for prosecution under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, awaited documents, bank fraud complaints, one-time settlement (OTS) issues, recent court judgments, and issues related to mule accounts, were discussed and deliberated upon,” the CBI statement said.

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