Two persons chargesheeted in SBI tractor loan fraud case in Jammu

Jammu: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch filed a chargesheet on Thursday against two persons for allegedly defrauding the State Bank of India (SBI) of Rs 7.2 lakh. Officials said the two obtained a tractor loan using forged documents and diverted the loan amount without delivering the financed vehicle. The case stems from a complaint lodged by Sushil Kumar, Branch Manager of SBI's Agriculture Development Branch, Jammu, against Kulbir Singh, proprietor of K K Motors, Abdul Hamid and others. Following this, they said, the chargesheet was filed before the court of the City Judge, Jammu, in connection with a case registered in 2024. According to the complaint, Abdul Hamid availed a loan under the SBI Tatkal tractor loan scheme to purchase a tractor from K K Motors. They said the loan amount was transferred to the dealer's account via NEFT after all formalities were completed. However, officials said the tractor was never delivered to the borrower despite the bank getting payment, resulting in wrongful loss to the bank and misuse of public funds. During the investigation, the EOW found that Kulbir Singh and Abdul Hamid had allegedly secured the loan by submitting fake and forged revenue documents. The probe further revealed that the loan amount was diverted to K K Motors' account and the financed tractor was never supplied to the borrower, they said. They said the investigation, backed by documentary evidence, witness statements, financial records, and other corroborative material, led to the filing of the chargesheet before the court for judicial proceedings. The Crime Branch appealed to the public to remain vigilant against economic frauds, report such offences to the EOW and submit complaints through the Crime Branch's designated email or helpline, officials said.