PNB Exposed: CBI Court Nails Retired Bank Brass, Private Players in ₹1.56 Crore Fraud
New Delhi/Shimla/Ahmedabad, April 10
In a damning verdict that once again exposes cracks in the banking system, a CBI court in Ahmedabad has convicted and sentenced three retired officials of Punjab National Bank along with six private individuals and a firm in a ₹1.56 crore loan fraud case.
The convicted include former senior bank officials—Gurinder Singh (Retd AGM), K.G.C.S. Iyer (Retd Chief Manager) and K.E. Surendranath (Retd Senior Manager)—who were found guilty of bending rules and clearing dubious loans that eventually sank into fraud.
The three retired PNB officials have been handed two years of rigorous imprisonment along with fines of ₹1 lakh each.
Among private players, Sanjay Nagjibhai Patel and Hitesh Domadiya drew the harshest punishment—three years in jail.
Others, including Satish Nagjibhai Davra, Vaishaliben Davra and Ramilaben Bhikhadiya, have been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with fines.
A company involved has also been slapped with a monetary penalty.
Fraud Script: Forged Papers, Rubber-Stamp Sanctions
The case, probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, reveals a familiar but alarming pattern—forged documents, complicit insiders, and blind approvals.
Back in 2011, a Surat-based textile firm sought a term loan of ₹3.7 crore and a cash credit limit of ₹40 lakh, supposedly to purchase 44 water jet looms. What followed was a textbook case of systemic failure:
Fake documents were submitted and passed off as genuine.
Bank officials ignored due diligence norms.
Loans were sanctioned and disbursed without proper verification.
The accused officials, instead of acting as gatekeepers, allegedly enabled the fraud by approving and releasing funds, causing a loss of ₹1.56 crore (plus interest) to the bank.
CBI Cracks the Case
The CBI registered the case in 2016 and, after a detailed probe, filed a chargesheet. The investigation nailed how private individuals and bank insiders worked in tandem—one forging papers, the other clearing them without question.
This case adds to a growing list of frauds that have dented public trust in public sector banks. While the amounts may not rival mega scams, the modus operandi is disturbingly similar—collusion, negligence, and complete disregard for banking safeguards.
The verdict sends a clear message: even years after retirement, accountability will catch up.
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