 "UP farmer's bank account seized for being Vijay Mallya's 'guarantor'")
In a bizarre incident, a nationalised bank has frozen the account of Manmohan Singh, a farmer, for being a 'guarantor' to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is embroiled in charges of money laundering.
Singh, a farmer in Khajuria Naviram village under Bilsanda block of Pilibhit, was informed about the same when he went to the local Bank of Baroda (BoB) branch to deposit money.
"I went to deposit four lakh to the bank but they refused to accept the money. The bank manager said I have taken a guarantee for Kingfisher Company. I don't know anything about this company," Singh said.
He also said that the action by the bank has deprived him of availing basic facilities, including receiving of MSP (minimum support price), because payment for that is directly made to the bank account, which is frozen.
According to a Times of India report, Singh cannot avail any subsidy provided by the agriculture and plant protection departments on the purchase of high-quality paddy seeds, insecticides and other agricultural inputs for the forthcoming paddy crop too.
The branch manager of BoB's Naand branch, Mange Ram, told they have got a mail from the Mumbai regional office in this regard.
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"We got a mail from our Nariman Point branch that the name of Manmohan Singh has appeared in the list of borrower granter's list and as per instruction, we froze his account. They sent us the name and account number," Mange Ram said.
"We have written to the branch for further action and have sent them the documents," he added.
When asked about the credits Singh has taken from the bank, Ram said the former has taken a loan of Rs 5 lakh.
"Singh came here to deposit money and I told him that he can deposit money but can't withdraw it," he added.
Ram told ToI that "Manmohan Singh had been operating both the bank accounts for the last 8 years and the bank always found him absolutely genuine in his dealings". The report added that while Ram had sent a "favourable report" about Singh to the Mumbai regional office, no steps have been taken so far.
Speaking to ToI on the matter, District Magistrate Masoom Ali Sarvar said: "The matter hasn't been brought to my notice yet. I will certainly look into it whenever he submits a written complaint to me."
The bank, for its part, has not clarified to Singh how his name came up in connection with Mallya in the first place.
Mallya, currently in Britain, is accused of defaulting on payment of bank loans totalling in excess of Rs 9,000 crore.
Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to conduct a forensic audit of Mallya's related companies' accounts, to collect money trail details in connection with the Rs 6,963 crore borrowed by him and his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
The ED is formally probing Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines under anti-money laundering laws in connection with Rs 950 crore loan default to IDBI bank.