Paid all dues, says BJP leader Mohit Bharatiya declared defaulter

Mohit Bharatiya has lost Assembly polls in 2014 on a BJP ticket. File pic

Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing leader Mohit Bharatiya has served Bank of Baroda a defamation notice for declaring him a willful defaulter in debt servicing cases. The notice said that the bank hasn't followed due procedure in declaring him a willful defaulter despite the payment of R76 crore that he had made from his personal coffers for standing a guarantor for borrowing companies Avyaan Ornaments Pvt Ltd and KBJ Developers.

Bharatiya, however, hasn't mentioned in his legal notice the company - Avyaan Ornaments Pvt Ltd - for which he was declared a willful defaulter along with one more person on Wednesday. Bharatiya (earlier known as Kamboj) said that his contention was about him being declared a willful defaulter although he had paid for the two companies.

The leader said the bank had made two complaints to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) last year against two borrower companies in which he was either chairman and Managing Director or director (he resigned from these positions later with the bank's due permission), but the CBI did not find any substance in the complaints, following which the two parties had reached a settlement for which a certificate was issued by the bank.

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"This act [of paying] clearly indicated my intention to settle the accounts at the earliest for the two companies [in dispute]," said Bharatiya, adding that he was fighting a legal case against the bank over a certain amount, which, if directed by the court, "would also be paid promptly."

CBI, BOB don't respond

mid-day tried verifying Bharatiya's claims from the CBI officers in Mumbai's Bank Securities and Fraud Cell, but there wasn't any response. Bank of Baroda's zonal office of Stressed Asset Recovery Branch, which published a willful defaulter notice in the city newspapers, told mid-day that the matter was being handled by their higher authorities corporate office, which did not respond to our calls.

'Selective targetting'

Bharatiya's legal notice said the bank had taken action under the influence of some political parties. He said the bank hasn't taken action against the company (Avyaan) and its existing board of directors, and instead, it was selective in targeting him. He has demanded the withdrawal of defamatory content and unconditional apology published in all city newspapers within a period of 72 hours from the receipt of the notice, failing which he has threatened criminal and civil legal action against the bank and officials involved.

Bharatiya had run into disputes with some other national banks over debt servicing of the companies he had been associated with or stood guarantor for the loans they sought. In 2014 Assembly polls, Kamboj was the richest amongst all the candidates with declared assets worth Rs 350 crore. He had lost the Dindoshi seat on a BJP ticket.

Rs 67cr
Bharatiya paid to BOB as guarantor of defaulting companies

Rs 350cr
His assets during 2014 Assembly polls

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