© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The CBI court in Ahmedabad Friday convicted six people from Surat associated with the textile business in connection with a loan fraud at the Bank of Baroda, and awarded them three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 each. A seventh person who was accused in the case died during the pendency of proceedings.
The court also imposed a separate fine of Rs 25,000 on Jalpa Enterprises. Sources with the central probe agency said one more accused in the case, Shailesh Bhikhabhai Satasiya, director of Shree Kali Yam in Surat, died during the trial, following which the charges against him were abated.
Sources with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Sanjay Patel and his wife Sangeeta of Jalpa Enterprises submitted an application for a loan to the Small and Medium Enterprise Loan Factory (SMELF) at the Sachin branch of the Bank of Baroda. They requested a term loan of Rs 12.90 crore for the installation of 60 air jet weaving machines and a cash credit facility of Rs 2 crore, totalling Rs 14.90 crore, against the hypothecation of plant, machinery, stocks, and book debts, backed by personal guarantees from the directors and guarantors.
The accused, however, diverted the bank’s funds, using them for purposes other than purchasing the textile machinery for which the loan was sanctioned. As a result, they caused the bank a loss of Rs 8.48 crore.
The CBI registered an offence against Jalpa Enterprises and its associates on April 1, 2017, and the chargesheet was submitted on December 30 that year. After the trial and arguments from both the prosecution and the defence, the CBI court in Ahmedabad convicted all six accused on Friday.
