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The special judge for CBI court in Ahmedabad sentenced two persons to five years of rigorous imprisonment each in a case of fraudulent fire insurance claim and also imposed a total fine of Rs 60 lakh, Tuesday.
The CBI, in a statement, said the court sentenced Rashik J Patel Dalsaniya — Partner of M/s. Mira Chemicals in Bharuch — to an RI of five years and imposed a fine of Rs 45 lakh. The court also sentenced Sanjay Ramesh Chitre — Proprietor of M/s S R Chitre & Co (Surveyor) — to undergo an RI of five years, with a fine of Rs 15 lakh.
The case was registered by the CBI, ACB, Gandhinagar on June 29, 2006, on the basis of source information. It alleged that public servants of United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL) were involved in a criminal conspiracy. It also alleged the employees extended pecuniary advantage of Rs 36,86,451 in a Fire Insurance Claim settlement.
According to the CBI’s probe, the chemical company — a partnership firm led by Rashik — suffered a fire at their factory in GIDC Panoli on January 20, 2002. The fire resulted in significant damage to the building, equipment, stocks, and chemicals. The firm then reported the incident to the UIICL and M/s S R Chitre & Co was appointed as the surveyor — who assessed the damage at Rs 36,92,137. The claim was approved and the payment was made after scrutiny from UIICL officials, including the branch and divisional offices.
However, the investigation later revealed that fake bills and vouchers were submitted to exaggerate the damage and reinstallations.
The CBI then filed its first chargesheet on December 31, 2008, and a supplementary one on October 28, 2010.
During the trial, 34 prosecution witnesses and 234 documents/ exhibits were examined in support of the charges against the accused. The court found merit in the charges against Rashik and Sanjay.
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