COURT ALSO TOTAL FINE OF RS. 27.5 LAKH IN A BANK FRAUD CASE
Face2News/Ahmedabad
The Special Judge for CBI cases, Ahmedabad has sentenced seven accused including K.R. Goyal and Rakesh Behl, both then Managers and Shiv Ram Meena, then Officer, all three of Punjab & Sind Bank, Surat Branch (Gujarat) and four private persons namely Manjit Singh Bakshi, Manish G. Patel, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Sandeep Kumar Bansal to three years’ Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) with total fine of Rs.27.5 lakh in a bank fraud case.
CBI had registered the instant case against accused including convicted accused on allegations that accused perpetrated a fraud in Surat Branch of Punjab & Sind Bank during the year 2000-2002.
(SUBHEAD)It was alleged that accused caused a wrongful loss to the tune of Rs. 1.84 crore to the Bank by unautorisedly and dishonestly accommodating the parties by way of purchase/ discounting of cheques of heavy amounts, drawn on accounts of sister concerns/ firms of aforesaid private accused persons, much beyond their delegated authority of public servants.
They deliberately and intentionally effected the payments of cheques of heavy amounts from the accounts against un-cleared instruments beyond the delegated powers on regular basis. In order to suppress such transactions from their Controlling office, the accused bank officials did not obtain post-facto approval from the competent authority of the Bank.
After investigation, charge sheet was filed by CBI on 31.03.2004 against the accused convicted and sentenced by the Court for the offences of criminal conspiracy to cheat, criminal breach of trust by the banker’s, falsification of accounts and criminal misconduct against the following accused persons.
The Court, after trial, found accused guilty and sentenced them accordingly. During trial, 53 prosecution witnesses were examined and 243 documents/ exhibits were relied upon in support of the charges against the accused persons, which led to the conviction.
