Former Assam CM Hiteswar Saikia’s son arrested by CBI in loan default case

Former Assam Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia’s son was on Sunday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a loan default case, PTI reported.

Ashok Saikia, a businessman, had availed a Rs 9.37-lakh loan from the Assam State Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank in 1996, according to the news agency. He claimed to have repaid his dues in 2011.

The businessman claimed that despite this, a CBI team came to his house in Guwahati on Sunday and said that his loan repayment was pending.

“I do not know why the CBI has brought me in a baseless and fictitious case,” Ashok Saikia said, according to PTI. “ I did not receive any notice from CBI. Only the CBI or the government will know this.”

Ashok Saikia’s brother Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, produced a purported certificate from the bank saying that the dues had been paid, PTI reported.

“Under the compromise settlement scheme, he [Ashok Saikia] has fully repay the dues both principal and interest,” said the document purportedly issued by the bank’s General Manager In-Charge HN Borah in 2015, according to the news agency. “Now his aforesaid loan is liquidated.”

Debabrata Saikia also disputed the CBI’s claim that it had first sent a notice to his brother.

“My mother, who lives with Ashok, stays at home all the time and she said no notice came to us,” the Congress leader said, according to PTI. “Our advocate said that this case should not have been pursued at all. I do not know why such an old settled case is being raked up.”

Unidentified officials told NDTV that CBI raided Ashok Saikia on the basis of a police case filed by the bank’s employees in 1998.

The investigation agency took over the inquiry in the case 2001. After that, it filed two cases against Ashok Saikia.

The CBI questioned Ashok Saikia for several hours on Sunday before arresting him, News18 reported. He is likely to be produced before a special court on Monday.