Another bank loan fraud case has come out from Odisha,and honestly,this one is not small thing ah . Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police has arrested Pradipta Kumar Lenka in connection with alleged ₹6.88 crore loan fraud involving State Bank of India (SBI).
Lenka was caught in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday after complaint was filed by Shiba Sundar Sahoo,Regional Manager of SBI,on May 5,2026 . And from what investigation is showing,this was not just one random loan issue.
According to EOW,Lenka was allegedly part of conspiracy where loans were taken using fake employment records . Meaning people were shown as employees of reputed companies like Tata Steel Ltd. and Vedanta Ltd. even though documents were allegedly fabricated .
Between May 2022 and November 2023,the accused and his associates reportedly managed to get 282 Xpress Credit Loans from different SBI branches . These included Rail Vihar,Fortune Tower,Patia,and Damana branches .
And this is where matter becomes even more serious,because once repayments stopped,these loans turned into non-performing assets (NPAs) . Total outstanding amount has been put at ₹6,88,29,323.
Few things standing out clearly in this case:
- Lenka and associates allegedly secured loans using fake employment documents .
- Total outstanding NPA amount is ₹6,88,29,323.
- Several SBI officials are also under investigation .
During probe,EOW officials also found that ₹3.23 lakh from loan accounts had allegedly been diverted into Lenka's personal account . That detail makes his role look more like middleman who was helping create false papers for financial gain.
Before Lenka's arrest,four other people had already been arrested in same case,including three bank officials . That part is very uncomfortable because when insiders are suspected,ordinary people start wondering how many checks actually failed.
EOW has also seized incriminating materials,including mobile device believed to contain evidence linked to investigation . For now,authorities are trying to find full chain behind this fraud and who all benefited from it.
But bigger question is still hanging there… if 282 loans could pass through system with fake employment records,then how deep was this network really?
