Lucknow: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested the branch manager and a credit officer of the Bank of Baroda’s Koireepur branch in Sultanpur district for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe from a loan applicant to release the overdraft component of a loan sanctioned under the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana.The accused were identified as Swarnim Srivastava, branch manager, and Pushpak Chaudhary, credit officer.According to the CBI, the case was registered on July 13, after the agency received a written complaint from a loan applicant. The complainant said he had applied for a ₹5 lakh loan under the state scheme and that while the term loan portion had been disbursed, the overdraft facility had not been released despite being sanctioned.The complainant alleged that the two officials demanded an undue advantage of ₹45,000 to facilitate release of the overdraft. The CBI said it conducted discreet verification prior to filing the case, which substantiated the allegation that the credit officer had demanded the bribe. Following verification, the agency registered a case under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and began investigation.The CBI laid a trap on July 14. During the operation, the agency said it caught Chaudhary red-handed while accepting ₹35,000 from the complainant. The CBI alleged the amount was accepted in collusion with and at the behest of Srivastava.Both officials were arrested immediately after the trap. The CBI said searches were conducted at locations linked to the accused. They were produced before the competent court in Lucknow. The agency said further investigation is under way to determine the wider scope of the alleged corruption and identify any other persons involved.
