Bank manager honey trapped for loan approval

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A manager of a nationalised bank was honey-trapped for the approval of loan approval by a so-called social worker and a woman.

Threatening the manager, demanded to approve all the loan files and sought extortion of Rs 40 lakhs. A case was registered against accused Siddharth Thokal and a 26-year-old woman in the Jawaharnagar police station on Tuesday.

According to the details, Thokal applied for a loan at a branch of a nationalised bank within the jurisdiction of Jawaharnagar Police Station. He met frequently with the manager who had joined the branch in August only.

He took with him Kalpana (26, name changed) two months ago to meet the officer. Thokal informed the officer that the woman needed a loan to start a beauty parlour. However, after verification, the manager informed them that the loan could not be approved as they did not fit the criteria.

Kalpana started sending messages to the manager after a few days. By sweet-talking and sending photographs to the manager, he was lured into the trap. The manager also fell into her trap. Finally, Kalpana pretended love for him. Over time, personal visits increased and physical relations were established several times. Until then, the manager was unaware of her intentions.

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Sent videos to manager

Kalpana insisted the manager a few days ago and took him to a farmhouse. She established a relationship there and did a video recording of the incident secretly. Thokal threatened him to make the video viral.

To settle the case, he demanded approval of all loan files and an extortion of Rs 40 lakhs. On this, the manager realised that he had cheated. Kalpana collected Rs 2.41 lakh from him till then.

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Accused smelt a rat & fled

The manager complained to Police Commissioner Praveen Pawar on Monday. On Pawar's instructions, Police Inspector Suraj Bandgar and PSI Maroti Khillare laid a trap to catch Thokal and Kalpana red-handed. The police officers handed over a bag containing real currency notes of 50,000 and the remaining were fake currency notes. Thokal called the manager to Mukundwadi on Monday evening. Fearing police, he wandered here and there for an hour.

Thokal stopped the manager's car at Cidco Chowk at 5.30 pm. The police officers instructed the manager to engage them in a conversation. However, the two accused became suspicious as the manager was confused.

As soon as they saw the policeman coming from a distance, Thokal and Kalpana fled on a two-wheeler with a bag of money. After the incident, the police reached the house of both. However, they were not found. PSI Maroti Khillare said that the search was on and they would be arrested soon. Thokal says that he is an office-bearer of an organisation.