Chandigarh, Nov 29 (IANS) A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in Punjab convicted and sentenced seven persons in the Rs 7.83 crore Bank of Baroda fraud case, the investigating agency said on Saturday.

The SAS Nagar court handed a three-year rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 35,000 each to the accused, identified as Manish Jain and Ramesh Kumar Jain, who were partners of Manish Traders.

The accused, in collusion with a few bank officials, managed to siphon off funds, causing a substantial loss of Rs 7.83 crore to the public sector bank, the CBI said.

“The verdict sends a clear message against financial crime and underscores our commitment to prosecuting those who defraud public sector banks,” a CBI spokesperson said.

Five other accused identified as Rachna Jain, Bhupinder Singh, Pritpal Singh, Sanjeev Kumar Jain, and Anita Jain, were also sentenced to three years imprisonment with a fine of Rs 15,000 each for their roles in the conspiracy.

The CBI had registered the case on November 4, 2016, following a complaint from Bank of Baroda.

The bank in the complaint had named Ramesh Kumar Jain, Manish Jain, and Kanta Jain (Partners of Manish Traders), besides a few unidentified bank officials.

During the agency’s investigation, it was found that the partners of Manish Traders, allegedly with the help of certain officials of the bank, had fraudulently caused a wrongful loss of Rs 7.83 crore to Bank of Baroda.

The agency said the accused had misappropriated the huge amount from the bank through fraudulent means, but it did not share further details of the financial misconduct.

The swift and focused investigation by the CBI established the chain of events and the roles of all seven individuals, the agency said.

Following a thorough probe, the CBI filed a chargesheet against the seven accused on June 28, 2017.

The court proceeded to convict and sentence the accused after a full trial, providing a significant resolution in the long-pending economic offence case.

–IANS

snj/skp