A former bank manager, among five people, was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in connection with a multi-crore bank fraud case, taking the total number of accused to 20. The Special Judge for CBI cases Thursday also slapped a collective fine of Rs 7 lakh on the accused. The accused were identified as BG Zala, the then branch manager of State Bank of Saurashtra, Naroda Road Branch, Ahmedabad; Ramesh L Shah; Praful L Shah; Hemendra L Shah and Manoj C Brahmbhatt. Notably, the CBI has filed nine chargesheets, on multiple dates, against the accused including those convicted. Out of the total chargesheets, judgment in five chargesheets was pronounced on December 20, 2024, in which 15 accused had been sentenced to RI. The judgment with respect to the remaining four chargesheets involving five accused was pronounced Thursday. With this, 20 accused have been sentenced to RI with a total fine of Rs 22.35 lakh in the case. The case history The CBI had registered the case on September 11, 2001, against the accused on allegations that then branch manager Zala had entered into a conspiracy with the other accused to cheat the State Bank of Saurashtra, Naroda Road Branch, by abusing his position as public servant in the matter of public housing finance. It was also alleged that the housing finance was sanctioned to the tune of Rs 3.93 crore on the basis of false documents submitted by borrowers.
