The initial inquiry in the tractor scam has found that embezzlement in the case could be to the tune of Rs 21 crore. | |
| The role of the bank managers, survey agents and tractor agencies are also under the scanner. |
| |
| Initiating inquiries into the scam, in which loans for tractors were taken from banks on the basis of forged documents, G Janardan, superintendent of police of Ujjain, took all tractors registered with the regional transport officer in Ujjain from 2004 to 2006 under his possession. |
| |
| Janardan told the press that of these tractors, the initial inquiry indicates that about 700 were sold to farmers residing in other states or procured on false documents. |
| |
| "Even if we suppose that one tractor costs about Rs 3 lakh, the total embezzlement amounts to Rs 21 crore," the SP said. |
| |
| Not ruling out the involvement of bank officials and tractor agents, the SP said that in most of the cases, poor farmers have been made scapegoats. |
| |
| "The investigations done so far in the scam has unveiled that the tractor agents went to farmers in rural areas and convinced them to purchase the tractors," the SP said. |
| |
| But when their land was found unfit to obtain loans, they even 'helped' the farmers and prepared the forged documents. On the basis of these documents, the loans were obtained. |
| |
| According to official sources, it is the duty of the bank manager to check whether the tractors are actually being used by the farmers. But in most of the cases it was not done. |
| |
| It has also come to light that some of the farmers never returned the loan. However, no action was initiated against them either, sources said. |
| |
| "This leads to suspicion as to why the banks did not inquire when the farmers did not return the loan," the SP said. "This clearly indicates that they are part and parcel of the whole scam," he added. |
| |
| "Till now, 26 cases have been registered. In 20 cases, loans were sanctioned by the Ujjain branch of Allahabad Bank. Many other prestigious banks' are under the scanner," the SP said. |
| |
| He said that since the quantum of funds involved in the scam is also huge the investigation is expected to take some time. In this connection, the police have booked Devendra Sharma, a resident of Jawahar Nagar in Ujjain, and Sachin Shukla. |
| |
| Meanwhile, Prabhakar Singh Tomar and Vijay Bhatnagar, allegedly involved in supplying forged documents are absconding, police sources said. |
| |
|
| |
