JAMMU, FEB 18: The Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested five accused, including a former manager of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, in connection with an alleged multi-crore loan fraud, officials said on Tuesday.
The case was registered in 2023 following a complaint from Mohammad Shakeel, Chief Manager, Supervision & Control Division, Jammu Zonal Office. The complaint alleged that Saleem Yousuf Bhatti, a contractual employee of the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), Poonch, and others reactivated inactive watershed committee accounts at the bank’s Lassana branch in Surankote.
The accused allegedly altered account nomenclature, issued fake salary certificates and confirmation letters, and posed as government employees to obtain personal, cash-credit, and car loans fraudulently. They also opened fraudulent government accounts at the bank’s branches in Mendhar and Mendhar Bus Stand, routing money through various banks before securing loans worth ₹5 crore from different J&K Bank branches.
Following an in-depth investigation, the Crime Branch arrested:
Jatinder Singh, then Manager (Scale-II) of J&K Bank’s Rajouri branch (now demoted), resident of Jammu.
Mohammad Kabir of Poonch.
Mohammad Zafeer Khan of Poonch.
Zafar Iqbal of Poonch.
Mohammad Shakeel of Rajouri.
Officials stated that the scam resulted in a huge financial loss to the bank, and further investigations are underway to identify additional conspirators.
