Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 02 June 2025
Former Member of Parliament from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, was recently questioned by the police in connection with alleged irregularities in loan sanctions at the Andaman and Nicobar State Cooperative Bank Ltd (ANSCBL), where he served as Vice-Chairman.
According to national media reports based on inputs from the Press Trust of India (PTI), police officials have seized Mr. Sharma’s passport as part of an ongoing investigation into what has been described as “gross irregularities” in the approval and disbursement of loans.
Police sources cited in the PTI report revealed that the managing committee of ANSCB allegedly overlooked recommendations made by the loan screening committee and ignored CIBIL reports while approving loans. This bypassing of established protocols has raised serious concerns.
The police further said that they noticed large withdrawals in a short amount of time, which raised suspicion that the funds were being misused or diverted. “Seized documents also suggest manipulation in property valuation certificates,” a senior police officer added.
The reports mention that police have also seized original loan files of 65 individuals or entities, including those linked to Mr. Sharma’s family members and other bank directors. The investigation follows a formal complaint filed by the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies (HQ).
It has been alleged that loans were sanctioned without proper scrutiny of CIBIL scores and that branch managers submitted site inspection reports that were either unsigned or incomplete.
Police are expected to bring in forensic auditors to trace the path of the sanctioned funds and determine whether they were misused.
These developments have drawn significant attention at both local and national levels.
This story was first reported by multiple national media outlets based on PTI inputs.