Bihar MLA booked for slapping bank official

Patna, July 31: A CPI(ML) Legislator Mehboob Alam was booked on Saturday for allegedly slapping a branch manager of a bank in Bihar's Katihar district.

Rakesh Ranjan, Branch Manager of Gwaltoli branch of Allahabad Bank, lodged a complaint against the MLA for allegedly slapping and abusing him besides trying to forcibly close the branch and creating disturbances in discharging duty, a police official said.

Ranjan had filed a written complaint on Friday to the Superintendent of Police Sidharth Mohan Jain about the incident that occurred at Gwaltoli branch of the Bank on Thursday.

Acting on the SP's directive, the FIR was lodged against two named persons, including the MLA, and some unnamed persons, he said.

When contacted Alam, an MLA from Balirampur Assembly constituency in Katihar district, told reporters "the allegations are completely baseless. If the branch manager has lodged a case against me then I will also lodge a counter case... I had gone with people's problem to the branch manager who is a corrupt man." Police got a CCTV footage which confirmed the incident of slapping, the police official said.

Bank workers have been opposing the government's proposal to merge SBI's associate banks with itself. In addition to this, unions are also against the government's proposed move to privatise IDBI Bank.

PTI