Baripada Loan Fraud: Vigilance Secures Conviction of Bank Officials

Baripada, April 30: Odisha Vigilance secured a major conviction in a loan fraud case involving officials of Baripada Urban Co‑operative Bank Ltd. and a loanee from Rairangpur, Mayurbhanj.

The court found Asutosh Mohanty (former Branch Manager, Rairangpur), Kantilal Mugree (retired Chief Executive), Krupasindhu Mohanta (ex‑President of the bank), and Salil Agarwal (loanee) guilty of misappropriating government funds exceeding Rs 15.58 lakh.

The accused were charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (418, 420, 120‑B) for fraudulent loan disbursement based on fabricated documents and inadequate security.

The court sentenced each convict to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 each.

Vigilance has also moved to stop the pension of retired Chief Executive Kantilal Mugree.

This case underscores Odisha Vigilance’s ongoing crackdown on corruption and financial irregularities across cooperative institutions in the state.