In a significant breakthrough, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police on Tuesday, arrested three senior women officials of the State Bank of India (SBI) for their alleged involvement in a massive bank fraud amounting to Rs. 6.88 crore.
The arrested officials — Baishakhi Saha (Assistant Manager, Credit & NPA), Charubala Dandasena (former Service Manager), and Sarita Paikaray (former Branch Manager) — were produced before the Designated Court under the OPID Act cum Special Court for EOW at Cuttack.
According to the EOW, the trio allegedly conspired with a middleman and others to sanction 282 fraudulent Xpress Credit (personal) loans worth Rs. 13.92 crore between May 2022 and November 2023. The loans were processed using fake employment records, forged salary certificates, fabricated bank statements, and manipulated KYC documents. The borrowers, shown as employees of reputed companies like Tata Steel, TPCODL, Vedanta, and others, stopped repaying EMIs shortly after disbursement, turning the accounts into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs).
Baishakhi Saha, who was posted as Service Manager at SBI’s Rail Vihar Branch, is accused of processing 143 loans worth over Rs. 6.22 crore. Charubala Dandasena and Sarita Paikaray, both linked to the Damana Square Branch, allegedly handled 9 loans worth Rs. 30.17 lakh each, with Paikaray serving as Branch Manager at the time.
A fourth accused, middleman Smruti Ranjan Mohanty, was arrested earlier on May 20 and remains in judicial custody.
The case came to light after a complaint by Shiba Sundar Sahoo, Regional Manager of SBI. An internal bank probe revealed serious lapses, gross violations of banking norms, and procedural irregularities, leading to the suspension of the involved officials.
During the investigation, EOW seized incriminating forged documents. The probe is ongoing to identify more beneficiaries and possible wider networks.
This scam highlights growing concerns over insider involvement in banking frauds, where officials allegedly bypassed due diligence for personal gains, ultimately burdening public sector banks and taxpayers.
