HC bench rejects Arvind Nilangekar's plea for discharge in alleged Rs 40 crore loan fraud case
The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed the discharge plea of Arvind Patil Nilangekar, brother of BJP MLA Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar, clearing the way for the trial to proceed.
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Latur: There has been a significant turn in the alleged Rs 40 crore loan fraud case linked to Arvind Patil Nilangekar, brother of BJP MLA Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar. The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court is said to have rejected his plea for discharge. This clears the way for the trial on the charges in the case to proceed.
The case relates to loans taken in 2009 from the Union Bank of India and the Bank of Maharashtra. According to the information available, a company named M/s Victoria Agro Food Processing Pvt. Ltd. received a loan of about Rs 40 crore from the two banks. Some immovable property is said to have been mortgaged for this loan.
It is alleged that the mortgage documents filed for the loan were tampered with. The investigating agency alleges that the original document referred to eight hectares of land at Survey No. 289/A in Nilanga. In later entries, only a 740 square foot property at Survey No. 5-A was shown as mortgaged.
It also emerged in the case that the company had repaid Rs 25.50 crore of the banks' dues through a one-time settlement. However, according to the information available, the CBI argued that paying the outstanding bank dues does not automatically absolve the accused of the charges of alleged forgery, cheating or conspiracy.
The investigation also looked into some other matters. These include providing papers for the valuation of the property, being present during the inspection of the site, and signing the loan-related forms.
Meanwhile, Arvind Patil Nilangekar is reported to have filed his nomination for the election to a director's post at the Latur District Central Cooperative Bank. As a result, the court case has begun to be discussed in political and cooperative circles.
All eyes are now on what happens at the next hearing and what evidence comes before the court. For now, with the discharge plea rejected, the trial will go ahead and the court alone will decide on the charges.
