Jaipur: Syndicate Bank scam accused booked for attempting suicide
Shankar Khandelwal had attempted suicide by consuming sleeping pills.
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Jaipur: The city police have registered an FIR against Shankar Khandelwal, one of the main accused in the Rs 1000-crore Syndicate Bank scam, for attempting suicide. He had consumed sleeping pills at his house in Officers Campus Extension in Vaishali Nagar on Wednesday.
A police team on Thursday visited the hospital where Shankar is undergoing treatment and recorded his statement.
Shankar was a property dealer and ran a firm by the name of Gumna property. He alleged that some influential people were threatening and extorting him. Shankar was allegedly depressed over threats from some MLAs, prominent jewelers and businessmen, his family members alleged.
He alleged that he invested in properties after borrowing money from people and the banks. He had borrowed money at a high interest rate from some influential people. He had given them possession of properties, but they were still demanding money, threatening to kill him.
It was the second suicide attempt by Shankar who is suffering from oral cancer. Earlier he had tried to end his life in a prison.
Shankar Khandewal had allegedly written to the chief minister office (CMO) recently about threats. The letter went viral on social media channels. The letter names three lawyers, an MLA and 19 other businessmen and jewelers.
He also typed a two-page ‘suicide note’ before consuming sleeping pills on Wednesday. The letter also names people who were threatening him.
In March last year, the CBI had registered a case against several senior officers of Syndicate Bank and others for causing an alleged loss of Rs 1,000 crore to the state-owned bank. Shankar Khandelwal is one of the accused who, in connivance with bank officials, committed the fraud by resorting to discounting fake cheques and bills against fake letters of credit (LC) and arranging overdrafts against non-existent LIC policies.
Shankar Khandelwal was arrested in the case along with charted accountant Bharat Bamb of Udaipur in March last year. He remained behind bars for a year and then released on bail in March.
After he attempted suicide on Wednesday, he was rushed to a private hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
