People walk out from Bank of Baroda branch. Photo for representational purposes.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
A farmer's refusal to return Rs 16 lakh of money he mistakenly received from a bank has led the lender to initiate police action.
According to a report by News18, the incident took place in Kishangarh in Rajasthan, where farmer Kanaram Jat of the Chhota Lamba village received Rs 16 lakh in his bank account from the Bank of Baroda.
Overjoyed at the windfall, Jat promptly used Rs 15 lakh to settle a personal loan, making three separate transactions of Rs 5 lakh each between January 2 and 4.
The bank, meanwhile, discovered that the error had occurred when an amount set aside as crop insurance premium for the New India Insurance Company was mistakenly transferred to Jat's account.
When the bank found out about the error of Jat's subsequent transactions on January 10, they contacted the farmer and requested that he return the money.
Jat, however, refused, telling the bank that he had used it to repay his loans.
Bank of Baroda is now pursuing legal recourse to recover the funds.
Commenting on the incident Bank of Baroda manager Jitendra Thakur told News18, "Kanaram Jat’s Kisan Credit Card and land documents for 16 bighas are with the bank. If he does not return the money, we will be forced to recover the Rs 16 lakh by auctioning his land."
Meanwhile, an officer from the police statiion where the case has been registered told the publication, "We are looking into the matter and will take the farmer’s account statement to arrive at a resolution."