Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police has arrested a person in connection with a Rs 6.88 crore bank loan fraud case involving fake employment documents and fraudulent loan sanctions, a senior official said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Pradipta Kumar Lenka of Cuttack, was arrested from Bhubaneswar on Wednesday in connection with a case registered at the EOW Police Station on May 5, 2026, on the basis of a complaint filed by Shiba Sundar Sahoo, Regional Manager of the State Bank of India (SBI), Regional Business Office (RBO), Bhubaneswar.
According to the complaint, the accused persons, in criminal conspiracy with others, fraudulently availed 282 SBI Xpress Credit Loans amounting to Rs 6.88 crore from SBI’s Rail Vihar, Fortune Tower, Patia and Damana branches between May 2022 and November 2023.
The loans were allegedly obtained by submitting fake and fabricated employment records showing the applicants as employees of reputed organisations, including Tata Steel Ltd., TPCODL, Vedanta Ltd., Dhamra Port and Aarati Steels Ltd.
In a press statement, the EOW said the arrested accused, in connivance with loanees and others, facilitated the sanction and disbursal of loans meant for corporate and government sector employees in favour of 282 ineligible individuals by using forged salary certificates, employment details, bank statements and KYC documents.
After securing the loans through fraudulent means, the borrowers allegedly defaulted on repayment of EMIs, causing the loan accounts to turn into non-performing assets (NPAs). The outstanding amount in the case currently stands at Rs 6,88,29,323, officials said.
During the investigation, the EOW found that Rs 3.23 lakh from the fraudulent loan accounts had allegedly been diverted to Lenka’s bank account. Investigators further ascertained that Lenka was acting as a middleman in arranging fake documents in exchange for financial benefits.
Earlier, four accused persons, including three bank officials — Smruti Ranjan Mohanty, Baishakhi Saha, Charubala Dandasena and Sarita Paikaray — had been arrested in connection with the case and are currently in judicial custody.
The EOW has also seized several incriminating materials, including a mobile handset suspected to contain evidence related to the fraud. Further investigation into the case is underway.
