Mumbai, July 23: UTI Bank chairman and managing director P J Nayak has proceeded on leave in the wake of the draft report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) charging that he stood to gain from the failed merger with Global Trust Bank.

Let the bank board conduct an enquiry and decide, Nayak, who has proceeded on four-weeks' leave, told a news agency today. Nayak said he has handed over charge to the executive director S Chatterjee to manage the bank's affairs in his absence.

The bank board would be meeting shortly and constitute a committee to investigate the matter, sources said. Charging that the UTI Bank chairman stood to gain personally from the merger, JPC, probing the stock scam of 2001, said in its draft report yesterday that the board of UTI Bank should conduct an independent enquiry into the failed merger.

Bureau Report