Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jul 6: A complaint stands filed in Udupi town police station relating to an alleged fraudulent transaction put through by the deputy manager of a branch of the bank located in Essel Towers here. As per the complaint, Rajesh Kamath, deputy manager of the said bank branch, had signed certain loan documents to show as if John Castelino, father of the complainant, Johnson Castelino, had signed them.

Johnson Castelino is from Gopalpur, Santhekatte near here. It is said that Johnson Castelino's mother had raised two loans amounting to Rs 45 lac from this bank in 2009 for acquiring fixed assets. Documents pertaining to landed property owned in the joint names of John Castelino and his wife had been obtained as security for the said loans. Although the wife was given power of attorney by John Castelino, the bank people had not asked for it.

When repayment in the loans was not forthcoming promptly, senior manager of the bank's Jayanagar Bengaluru branch, Anand, and an employee identified as Madhu, had called John Castelino and his wife over phone, used abusive language with them, and posed death threats, it has been alleged. John Castelino, who was staying abroad then, insisted that he had not raised any loans and that he would not repay the loans. The bank people then sent a photocopy of loan document signed by John Castelino by e-mail to John. But it was found that the signature therein did not belong to John.

Both the loans were cleared in 2016. Johnson Castelino later grew suspicious about the loan documents and applied to the bank under Right to Information Act, seeking copies of loan documents. He received the copies on June 20, 2018, and found that the signatures on the documents attributed to John were in fact, not his. He found that the loan was sanctioned on November 27, 2008, but his father had visited his native place on December 23 that year. Johnson claims that when sanctioning loan to his mother, deputy manager of the bank, Rajesh Kamath, had put fake signatures of John Castelino with the aim of auctioning the land in case the loans were not cleared in future, as the land documents stood in the joint names of his parents. The complainant also accused senior manager of the bank, Anand, and an employee named Madhu of repeatedly calling them over phone and visiting their house, and thereby harassing them.

A case under section 34,420, 465, 504, and 506 of Indian Penal Code has been filed against the accused.