Police in Surat have booked a recovery manager of a nationalised bank and an alleged accomplice for allegedly transferring a family’s mortgaged property to a third party despite a one-time settlement of the loan and the issuance of a no-dues certificate, according to an FIR registered at Khatodara police station.
The complaint was filed by Vishakha Khakholiya, 47, who alleged that the property at Parvat Patiya was transferred without her family’s knowledge or consent. The case concerns loan facilities taken by her husband from the bank’s Bhatar Road branch between 2012 and 2016.
According to the FIR, the family had obtained cash credit and term loan facilities totalling around Rs 1.15 crore. Vishakha and her husband’s friend, Pradip Agrawal, were listed as guarantors, while the Parvat Patiya property was mortgaged against the loans. After the family failed to repay the dues, the outstanding amount reportedly reached around Rs 74 lakh and the account was classified as a non-performing asset.
The bank subsequently took possession of and sealed the property, the complaint stated. Agrawal later approached the bank to settle the dues through a one-time settlement, or OTS. The settlement was reportedly processed by Sanjay Kumar Sinha, who was then chief manager of the Regional Stressed Assets Recovery Branch.
The bank allegedly agreed to settle the account for Rs 51.50 lakh, which Agrawal paid. Following the payment, the original property documents were returned and a no-dues certificate was issued, according to the complaint. The family then believed that the property had been released from the mortgage.
The complainant alleged that the recovery manager, acting in collusion with Parmananad Malpani, later issued a sale certificate transferring the property to Malpani. The alleged transfer took place despite the settlement and without the family’s knowledge or consent, the FIR stated.
The case has been registered under Sections 406, 420 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 406 relates to criminal breach of trust, Section 420 to cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and Section 114 concerns abetment by a person present when an offence is committed.
The allegations place the focus on the administrative handling of settled secured loans, including the relationship between possession of a mortgaged asset, repayment under an OTS arrangement, return of title documents and issuance of a sale certificate. The police are investigating the alleged irregularities and the roles of the bank officials and the alleged accomplice.
