TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Perhaps the first major cheating case in the history of co-operative credit societies vis-a-vis gold loan, the Quepem Urban Co-operative Credit Society has officially confirmed that its Shiroda branch has been cheated to the tune of Rs 5.27 crore by pledging fake and impure gold.
The Society has placed under suspension two bank managers and also disclosed plans to lodge a FIR against goldsmith Datta Shirodkar, who had certified that the pledged gold was of 22 carat, besides the concerned officials within 2-3 days. Saying that the incident is an eye opener to the societies in the co-operative sector, the Quepem Urban Society has called for necessary amendment to the law in force so to bring gold loans for ratification of the Board of Directors. The Society has appealed to the shareholders not to panic over the incident, saying all steps are being initiated to recover the loan amount and to punish the guilty.
Addressing the media in the presence of the Society’s directors, Quepem Urban Co-operative Credit Society chairman Prakash Velip has said that the gold pledged with the Shiroda branch has turned out to be of low purity. Though news was doing the rounds that the pledged gold is fake, the incident came to light when the gold was put for auction after 29 of the parties failed to clear the loan amount. When the packets containing the gold was opened in the presence of the Society’s special auditor, the 22 bidders refused to bid on grounds the gold was of low purity and only the dissolution of the gold into liquid will now reveal the extent of impurity. “The Society has placed under suspension bank manager Sureka Gawde after it came to light that the gold pledged with the branch is of low purity. Earlier last year, the Society had suspended Swapnila Hindlekar for violating the loan norms,” Velip told the media.
Replying to a host of questions on the incident, Velip said the norms pertaining to gold norms are clear that the loan is to be sanctioned by the bank manager without ratification by the Board of Directors. “There is no question of making the officials scapegoats when the loans were sanctioned at the level of the managers,” he said.
When asked why the Board had never raised queries over the sanction of loan by the Shiroda branch, Velip said, “When we had raised the queries, the bank manager had replied that the loanees were businessmen from neighbouring Ponda.”
Asked whether the loanees are related in any way or are relatives of the goldsmith Datta Shirodkar, Velip said “going by the surnames of the loanees, it appears there’s some connection, but we will leave the question for investigation by the police.”
He appealed to the shareholders not to panic assuring that the Society will take steps to recover the loan amount on a war footing. “Our priority for the moment is lodging a FIR and recovery of the loan amount. Gold loan is a secured loan. We are on the job. We will also recover the amount from the fixed assets of the loanees. The Society will also seek to recover the amount from the sureties,” he said.
