Himachal: Loan given on fake documents, three including former bank manager jailed

August 12, 2025

The CBI special court has sentenced three accused to three years of imprisonment in the case of sanctioning 41 crop loans (KCC) on the basis of fake documents in the Punjab National Bank branch of Dhalpur in Kullu. Special Judge Dr. Parvinder Singh Arora sentenced former branch manager Amar Singh Bodh to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 45,000, while his associates Tashi Phunchog and Daulat Ram to three years imprisonment and a total fine of Rs 1.10 lakh. If the fine is not paid, the accused will have to undergo an additional imprisonment of three months. This case was registered by the CBI ACB Shimla branch on April 11, 2015.

What is the matter?

The complaint was made by PNB Mandi circle chief Rajiv Khanna. It was alleged that between 2010 and 2012, the then bank manager Amar Singh Bodh, in collusion with Tashi Phunchog and Daulat Ram, sanctioned and disbursed 41 KCC loans on the basis of fake revenue documents and non-encumbrance certificates (NEC), amounting to a total of Rs 1.83 crore. Investigation revealed that Daulat Ram’s applications had his photograph attached, but the loan documents bore someone else’s signature.

The jamabandi, along with the fake charge creation report and schedule declaration forms on it were also fake. The accused also misled the then-senior manager, Bishan Singh, into sanctioning the loans. According to the prosecution, the verdict on the other 38 charge sheets against the convicts is yet to come. Earlier, AS Bodh, Tashi Phunchog, Lekh Raj, Dharamchand, and Babli Sharma were convicted in two cases.

Wrong Land Ownership shown 

In 2010, Daulat Ram had applied for a KCC loan of Rs 4.5 lakh. He allegedly submitted an affidavit of Jamabandi, KYC documents and a copy of ration card issued by the Patwari of 2003-05. After this, the amount was transferred to his account. The scam was exposed in the bank audit. The investigation revealed that Amar Singh Bodh sent a letter to the Tehsildar Kullu for creation of charge on the land and got NEC issued through a listed advocate. The land ownership was wrongly shown in the Patwari’s report.