NEW DELHI: A CBI court in Ahmedabad sentenced a private person to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 6 lakh. This conviction came after a lengthy investigation spanning over two decades, starting from January 30, 2003.
The convicted individual, Sanjay Ramesh Chitre, a former surveyor/loss assessor, was found guilty of entering into a criminal conspiracy with public servants and private individuals to sanction insurance claims based on forged documents. This fraudulent activity resulted in a loss of Rs 4,35,116 to the New India Assurance Co. Ltd. under one of the policies issued.
The CBI filed a chargesheet on June 24, 2005, against Chitre and other accused, including a senior divisional manager of New India Assurance Co. Ltd. However, the trial against the public servant was terminated due to his demise during the trial.
The investigation revealed that Chitre, in collusion with the public servant and other private individuals, submitted forged documents to facilitate the fraudulent insurance claims. The CBI’s meticulous investigation and diligent prosecution efforts ultimately led to Chitre’s conviction.
In a similar case, a court in Madurai sentenced four accused, including a former chief branch manager of Indian Overseas Bank, to 3-4 years’ rigorous imprisonment in a bank fraud case. The court also imposed a total fine on the accused.
The accused, G. Bala Subramanian, then chief branch manager of Indian Overseas Bank, Palayamkottai branch, was sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 80,000. The other three accused, N. Kalyanasundaram, N. Mahalingam, and M. Ammamuthu, were sentenced to four years’, three years’, and three years’ rigorous imprisonment, respectively, with fines ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.4 lakh.
The CBI registered the case in 2010, alleging that the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the Indian Overseas Bank by sanctioning loans and credits without proper credit analysis, resulting in a loss of Rs 2.42 crore to the bank. The CBI filed a chargesheet in 2011, and after trial, the court held the accused guilty and sentenced them accordingly.
“The convictions highlight the CBI’s pursuit of justice, even in cases that stretch over decades. The sentence serves as a deterrent to those involved in fraudulent activities and reinforces the agency’s commitment to combating corruption and crime,” said an official.
