CBI court charges PNB recovery agent for extending KCC limits for money

Ghaziabad: A special CBI court on Wednesday framed charges against a recovery agent accused of conspiring with a Punjab National Bank branch manager to solicit bribes for enhancing Kisan Credit Card limits. CBI arrested the accused in 2022 while he was allegedly accepting Rs 7,000 from a cardholder.The case is linked to FIR registered with the CBI anti-corruption bureau police station on Oct 18, 2023, by Devendra Kumar of Sambhal district alleging that the manager of Punjab National Bank’s Sikendarpur Khagi Branch in Sambhal, Durgesh Kumar Gupta, demanded 5% of the amount for issuing Kisan Credit Card (KCC) through Harswaroop alias Khayali Singh, who worked as recovery agent on behalf of M/s Bishan Fincap Consultants Pvt Ltd at the PNB branch.Special judge (prevention of corruption) Anand Prakash Singh, charged Singh under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, read with Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended 2018).The court said that the accused, Singh, in connivance with co-accused Gupta, demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 on various dates for getting the KCC limit loan of Rs 4 lakhs sanctioned to Kumar.“By corrupt or illegal means or by using personal influence to obtain undue advantage by influencing co-accused Durgesh Kumar Gupta (public servant), you have thus committed an offence punishable under Section 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended in 2018), which is within the cognisance of this Court,” the judge said, adding that the offences are also punishable under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, read with Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.