Peace Party chief under EC scanner

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer has checked Ayub’s affidavit and informed the commission. “SBI’s letter has been forwarded to the EC,seeking their opinion for action,” said Umesh Sinha,Chief Electoral Officer of UP.

According to the complaint,sent by the Chief General Manager of the SBI corporate office in Mumbai,Ayub had taken a loan of Rs 6.73 crore from SBI’s Gorakhpur branch for Hi-Tech Hospital and Healthcare Corporation Limited in 2009. Established in Gorakhpur,the company manufactures medical products like syringes and needles.

He had taken another loan of Rs 3.34 crore from Bareilly branch of the same bank for another firm,Safety Technologies,set up at Kashipur in Uttarakhand,in 2007.

According to a SBI official,Ayub and his wife Shamimul Fatima are directors in these firms and both were guarantors for the loans. The official said since the loans were not repaid,the SBI moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal about a year ago. While the case of Safety Technologies is pending in DRT,Lucknow; the case of the other firm is pending at DRT,Allahabad.

“In the letter,SBI has written that Dr Ayub did not mention the details of these two loans in his affidavit submitted with the nomination papers,” the Chief Electoral Officer said.

Ayub said “as a director of the companies,I was guarantor for the loans. I did not mention these loans in my affidavit as these were taken by the companies and not me”.

Further,Ayub said he had personally nothing to do with these loans. “DRT is a judicial body which has to take decision in the matters,” he said.