Rahul Chaubey  /  RAMGARHWA / MOTIHARI

In a clear violation of the circulars and instructions issued by the top management of the Central Bank of India (CBI), the Ramgarhwa-Patni branch Manager closes the bank at 3.30 pm on every working day, causing significant loss of face for the bank and seriously impacting the business. Since joining the Patni branch over two and half months ago, Manager Vikram Singh has had numerous fights and verbal exchanges with the long-standing customers for closing the bank one and half hours earlier than scheduled by the CBI management, local people informed.

As many as five bank customers have lodged strong protests with the Central Bank Regional Office in the past few days and filed complaints against the delinquent branch manager. However, their verbal and written requests to extend the branch’s cash transaction hours till 4 PM have not cut much ice with Central Bank’s senior officers who have turned a blind eye to their ordeal. Some people rued that the bank’s management has preferred to sit as a mute spectator despite complaints lodged against the Patni manager and requests to restore the bank’s business hours as per the circular.

Central Bank’s Regional Manager (Motihari) Naresh Thakur, when contacted, said: “In the past, he has received complaints against the Patni branch manager Mr. Vikram Singh and already initiated action against him.”

Sources said that Vikram Singh is a ‘tainted’ official who faced a Vigilance case for allegedly “arbitrarily and illegally advancing agricultural loan” to some party when he was serving as an Agriculture Finance Officer in Kaithal, Haryana. He was found guilty during the Vigilance inquiry following which his two increments were cut-off. In the past 10 years of his service, Singh has been severed upon several memos and his explanations have been called many times, they added.  

“It is intriguing that despite being aware of the Vigilance case and his ‘tainted’ past, the Central Bank of India has posted Singh in the Ramgarhwa-Patni branch -- which largely caters to an agriculture-based economy. Worse, though he was punished by the Central Bank for wrongly advancing agricultural loan in the past, one of the main responsibilities which has been given to this branch manager is to sanction ‘agriculture loans’,” said Basant Srivastava, an LIC agent who has filed a complaint against the manager to the Managing Director/CEO of the Central Bank, Mumbai and the RM, Motihari.

He pointed out that as per the Central Bank’s notification, the Patni branch situated in Ramgarhwa, East Champaran district, falls in the category of “semi-urban area.” Further, a circular dated January 5, 2019, issued by CBI’s General Manager (Operations) Umesh Kumar Singh states that “the normal working hours for every Central Bank branch in semi-urban areas are from 10 am to 5 pm, whereas the business hours including cash transactions are to take place till 4 pm.””

However, disregarding the instructions of the Central Bank’s top management, Patni Branch manager Singh has put up a notice board stating that the bank will only remain open from 10 am to 3.30 pm on working days. He has also driven away several customers from the bank premises, leading to altercations with important customers, including Ajit Kumar of the Patni Gas Agency and contractor Chandrashekhar Singh of the Meena Tola village.

Ajit Kumar (Krishna Singh) and Chandrashekhar Singh confirmed to Daily World that they have sent their respective complaints to the CBI’s Motihari Regional Office about the high-handedness and “arbitrary and biased” approach of the Patni branch manager. Chandrashekhar said that on May 22, when he went to the bank at 3.45 pm, the manager forced him to leave the branch and threatened to call the police. He told him that “he’s here for three years and will set everyone right”.  

“Vikram Singh misbehaved and tried to browbeat me by calling the police to the bank for raising a legitimate demand. I had complained about it to the Regional Manager, Motihari two months ago. Unfortunately, the Regional Office has continued to allow him to put up the same notice board for the past over two months without bothering about the bank’s business — letting the customers suffer,” Ajit Kumar (Krishna Singh) stated.

Mukesh Tripathi, a local chemist-shop owner, said: “There was no incident of any kind during the over three-year tenure of the previous Patni manager Shailesh Arun. During his time, cash was deposited and withdrawn in the bank till 4 pm and the bank was open for customers from 10 am till 5 PM for other works.” 

According to Srivastava, after three days of running around, the bank on July 3 paid him cash against a cheque signed by his wife who is suffering from a disability. When he brought this issue to the notice of Vikram Singh, he asked him to shift the account to some other bank. “I never expected this kind of a response from a bank manager.”  The situation has changed for the worse. Whenever I go to the Patni bank, it feels as if I am going to a police station, not the bank!” Srivastava lamented. 

Besides them, there are several others who have forwarded their complaints to the Central Bank senior management. 

On July 19, some of the aggrieved complainants met the CBI’s Lead District Manager (Motihari) Gopal  Prasad and shared their ordeal with him when he visited the bank to inquire into the conduct of the Patni branch manager. They informed the LDM about the flagrant violation of the instructions and the circulars on bank timings issued by the Central Bank’s top management and demanded stern action against Vikram Singh.  / DW