Lucknow, April 1 (IANS) A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow has sentenced five accused, including a senior bank official, to three years of imprisonment along with a total fine of Rs 3.4 lakh in a bank fraud case linked to Kanpur, officials said on Wednesday.

The convicted include Naresh Chander Bhardwaj, then Senior Manager at the Bank of India’s Lal Bangla branch in Kanpur, along with four private individuals — Sadhna Dixit, Ram Ji Shukla, Jitendra Srivastava and Prem Prakash.

According to the CBI, the court of Special Judge, CBI Court (Central), Lucknow, pronounced the judgment on March 31, holding all five accused guilty after a detailed trial spanning several years.

The case dates back to January 11, 2008, when the CBI registered an FIR based on a written complaint lodged by the Zonal Manager of Bank of India, Kanpur Zone. The complaint alleged large-scale irregularities and fraudulent loan sanctions at the Lal Bangla branch.

During the investigation, it was found that Bhardwaj, while serving as Senior Manager between July 17, 2006, and October 26, 2006, entered into a criminal conspiracy with co-accused and others, including one Vikram Dixit, to fraudulently process and sanction three loans — including housing, overdraft mortgage, and auto finance loans.

The agency alleged that these loans were sanctioned in the names of non-existent or pseudonymous borrowers using forged and fabricated documents. The fraudulent transactions resulted in a wrongful loss of approximately Rs 41.50 lakh to the Bank of India, while conferring corresponding wrongful gains on the accused.

Following the investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet against the accused on April 26, 2010, under relevant sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery.

After examining evidence and hearing arguments from both sides, the court found the accused guilty and awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to each, along with the imposed fines.

Officials said the conviction underscores the agency’s continued efforts to bring to justice those involved in financial fraud and corruption within banking institutions.

–IANS

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