Lokayukta registers FIR against Manda Thete

BHOPAL: The special police establishment (SPE) of the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta has registered an FIR against eight persons including Manda Thete - wife of IAS officer Ramesh Thete - and five senior officials of Apex Bank Jabalpur on charges of cheating and forgery.
A case has been registered against Manda Thete, managing director of Apex Bank R B Bhatti, its deputy general manager (DGM) Keshav Deshpande, legal advisor O P Patidar and four other officers, said an SPE official.The bank officers allegedly connived with Manda Thete and helped her to settle a defaulted loan, he said.
The Apex Bank, had given a loan of Rs 25 lakh to Manda in 2001, in violation of set norms. She, however, failed to repay the loan. The loan amount accumulated to Rs 93 lakhs including interest accrued on the principal. When she failed to repay the installments despite notices, a case of cheating was registered against her by the bank.
Not withstanding the fact that a case was already registered against her, five officials of the bank entered into an understating with her and settled the issue in return of Rs 53 lakh. According to the SPE officials, the legal advisors submitted a false legal opinion to the bank that paved the way for clearing obstacles in the settlement.
"Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and state government rules forbid any such settlement on defaulted loans, that too when a criminal case has already been registered," said the SPE officer. We would prosecute the accused officers within a months time, he added.