Look-out circulars issued against Rane's wife, son over unpaid loans

Look-out circulars have been issued by authorities against Union minister Narayan Rane's wife Nilam and MLA-son Nitesh in connection with cases related to unpaid loans taken from a financial institution, said a senior Pune police official on Thursday.

A look-out circular is a notice which prevents a person from leaving the country. Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Srinivas Ghadge said look-out circulars were issued against Nilam Rane and Nitesh Rane on September 3. He said Artline Properties Pvt Ltd (main borrower), a firm owned by Nilam Rane, had availed a loan of Rs 25 crore from DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd) in which she was the co-borrower and the outstanding on the account was over Rs 27.13 crore. Likewise, Nilam Hotels, owned by Nitesh Rane, too, had availed a loan from the private financial institute whose outstanding was over Rs 34 crore, the DCP said.

 

Both the loan accounts were later classified as NPAs (non-performing asset - declared due to default or arrears) by DHFL due to non-repayment, he said. As both the accounts got classified as NPAs, the financial institution approached the Centre, which then issued directions to the state government and as a result, the look-out circulars were issued, he said. The look-out circular, addressed to the Mumbai Airport and issued against Nilam Rane, states "there is apprehension that the said co-borrower may leave the country anytime with a malafide intention to evade repayment of the loan granted by DHFL and escape the legal actions that may be taken".

"To open the LOC (look-out circulars) of the co-borrower is necessary so that co-borrower's travel history should be maintained and evasion of repayment of the loan availed from DHFL should be avoided," reads the circular. The Pune police, in their notice, have asked the airport authorities to inform them whenever the co-borrower is intercepted at the airport.