A CBI court has convicted and sentenced two former Punjab National Bank (PNB) officials in connection with a Rs 4 crore bank fraud case involving the Jor Bagh branch in New Delhi. The convicted individuals are Kulvinder Kaur Johar, the former Chief Manager and Branch Head, and Ranjiv Suneja, the former Senior Manager of PNB’s Jor Bagh branch. Both have been sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 75,000 each.
The court also convicted and sentenced the bank’s panel advocate, Narendra Singh Parihar, to two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50,000. The conviction and sentencing were announced on January 9.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated the case on July 11, 2013, against Sanjeev Dixit, the proprietor of M/s Shankar Metals, Sanjay Sharma, the proprietor of M/s Super Machines, Indra Rani, and other unidentified individuals. The accused were alleged to have conspired to fraudulently secure a cash credit facility of Rs 4 crore from PNB’s Jor Bagh branch using fake property documents.
According to the prosecution, the accused, including Sanjeev Dixit, Kulvinder Kaur Johar, Ranjiv Suneja, Narendra Singh Parihar, and others, obtained the cash credit limit through forged documents. Subsequently, the funds were diverted through fictitious firms and companies. The investigation revealed the siphoning off of bank funds through bogus accounts.
Following the investigation, the CBI filed charge sheets against several individuals, including Sanjeev Dixit, Narendra Singh Parihar, Kulvinder Kaur Johar, Ranjiv Suneja, and private individuals Rahul Sharma and Rajeev Sharma. After the trial, the court convicted and sentenced the accused accordingly. The main accused, Sanjeev Dixit, is currently a proclaimed offender and evading trial, while Rahul Sharma and Rajeev Sharma were acquitted.
