A special CBI court in Pune sentenced two proprietors, Chandrakant Lodha and Paresh Thakkar, to three years in jail in a bank fraud case. The fraud led to a wrongful loss of over Rs 5.5 crore to the erstwhile State Bank of Hyderabad.
A special CBI court in Pune has sentenced two proprietors of private companies to three years of rigorous imprisonment in a bank fraud case involving a wrongful loss of over Rs 5.5 crore to the erstwhile State Bank of Hyderabad, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said.
According to a CBI press release, the court on July 6 convicted Chandrakant Lodha, proprietor of M/s Chandrakant S. Lodha & Co., and Paresh Thakkar, proprietor of M/s Thakkar and Sons, in the case.
Case Background and Investigation
The CBI had registered the instant case on October 9, 2001, against B R Dagde, the then Branch Manager, State Bank of Hyderabad, V. L. Kale, the then Assistant Manager, State Bank of Hyderabad, Chandrakant Lodha and Paresh Thakkar, based on the complaint filed by State Bank of Hyderabad.
It was alleged that the accused persons, with the object of cheating the bank, used to deposit high-value cheques, which were allowed without awaiting their clearance by the bankers.
Investigation revealed that in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, the accused Chandrakant Lodha, being the Proprietor of M/s Chandrakant S Lodha & Co., deposited 18 high-value accommodative cheques amounting to Rs 6.75 Crore issued by the accused Paresh Thakkar from his proprietorship account maintained in the Nashik People’s Cooperative Bank, which were passed by the bankers.
Subsequently, Vinod Kale, with the approval of B R Dagde, authorised withdrawals by allowing Chandrakant Lodha to issue high value cheques on his current account, even before the fate of the cheques could be known.
In this manner, Chandrakant Lodha issued cheques in his own name and that of his associate concerns, e.g., M/s A C Enterprises, M/s Akshay Traders, and thereby caused wrongful loss to the tune of Rs.5.58 Crore to the Bank.
Legal Proceedings and Verdict
After completion of investigation, CBI filed chargesheet on August 28, 2003 against B.R. Dagde, the then Branch Manager, V.L.Kale, the then Assistant Manager, Chandrakant Lodha and Paresh Thakkar.
In the year 2025, the instant case was transferred from Nashik to Pune Court, pursuant to the re-organisation of the jurisdiction of CBI courts in the State of Maharashtra.
The Court, after trial, convicted and sentenced the accused, two private persons, accordingly.
B R Dagde, the then Branch Manager, State Bank of Hyderabad and V. L. Kale, the then Assistant Manager, State Bank of Hyderabad, were acquitted of all charges. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)