‘NAMCO Bank’ Manager and Assistant Manager arrested in the Malegaon ‘Vote Jihad’ case

Suspected fraud worth not only Rs 120 crore, but worth Rs 1,200 crore

Malegaon – Before the assembly elections in the State, it came to light that bank transactions worth crores of rupees were made from Malegaon in Nashik. It had come to light that Rs 125 crore was received by some people in different accounts in a bank in Malegaon and later the money was transferred to different accounts. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya filed a complaint in this case. In this case, now ‘Nashik Merchant Co-Operative bank’s manager Ravindra Kanade and Asst. manager Diparatna Nikam have been arrested by the Police. It has been suspected that this misappropriation is not worth Rs 120 crore, but worth Rs 1,200 crore. Investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have revealed that a transaction of Rs 800 crore was made from the bank accounts of 21 fake companies and the scope of the misappropriation has extended to the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

1. Earlier, ED had raided more than 24 places related to Siraj Mohammed, the mastermind of the Malegaon ‘Vote Jihad Funding Scam’ case. This action by ED was going on in the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. 24 benami bank accounts of accused Siraj Mohammed were found in ‘Nashik Merchant Bank’ and Maharashtra Bank of Malegaon.

2. The Enforcement Directorate has identified a ‘money trail’ of Rs 800 crore through debit and credit transactions from 21 bank accounts of shell companies (shell companies are those which are created only to receive, and hold finances, but not to produce anything). Information has come to light that these companies have been founded in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi within a short period of time.

Editorial Perspective

It is clear from this case that crores of rupees are transacted in the name of ‘Vote Jihad’ to elect Muslim politicians in the elections. Considering the seriousness of this, action must be taken against the concerned.