Himal Press 
JANAKPURDHAM: Police have arrested the manager and credit officer of Siddhartha Bank Ltd’s bank office in Mills Area, Janakpurdham, following a dispute over the auction of property pledged as collateral.
The conflict arose after the bank allegedly auctioned a debtor’s property and transferred it to another party, despite the debtor’s willingness to settle the outstanding loan.
Police, however, say that the two have been kept at the police office to prevent an untoward situation due to the protest of the locals and businesspersons. DSP Barun Bahadur Kshetri of the District Police Office, Dhanusha, stated that the duo was brought to the police office for their safety amidst protests outside the bank.
Dinesh Rai Kurmi, who has taken a Rs 3.5 million business loan from the bank and another Rs 4.5 million in the name of his sister-in-law from the bank’s Mahendranagar branch, said the managers of the two branches auctioned the property pledged as collateral despite his commitment to clear the loans.
Kurmi claimed that he had been servicing the loan clearly. He added that he had been visiting the bank for the past two weeks to clear the loans dues but was provided with calculations on plain paper instead of an official statement. “When I refused to accept the plain paper calculation, they started threatening me, saying I must settle the loan immediately or the property would be auctioned,” Kurmi said.
Rai said he sought help from the Janakpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry for justice.
