Araria: Police have registered an FIR against 46 loan beneficiaries after an alleged Rs1.36 crore loan fraud surfaced at the Bank of Baroda’s Hansa branch in Araria district. The beneficiaries are accused of obtaining loans using allegedly forged Aadhaar cards, income tax returns (ITRs) and other fabricated documents.The alleged fraud involves personal, business and vehicle loans and it came to light during an internal audit by the bank, according to police. Investigators are examining whether mandatory procedures, including document verification, field inspection and due diligence, were followed before the loans were sanctioned.Branch manager Niraj Kumar, the informant in the FIR, said the accused beneficiaries had allegedly secured loans by submitting suspicious ITRs and other documents.One complaint relates to Rahul Kumar of Chhotelal Sah locality. His family has approached the SP and SDPO, alleging that loans worth Rs10.50 lakh were fraudulently obtained in his name during 2022-23 and 2023-24 using forged Aadhaar documents. The family has questioned why action has not been initiated against officials who processed the loans.Residents of Dibri village also alleged that several migrant workers were unaware that loans had been sanctioned in their names.Lead district manager Sudhir Anand said the matter pertains to the Bank of Baroda and that the bank would take departmental action if negligence or misconduct by any official is established. Raniganj SHO Dharmendra Kumar said police are examining bank records as part of the investigation.
