A CBI Court in Ahmedabad has sentenced two ex-officials of UCO Bank and a private proprietor to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a combined fine of Rs 30 lakh in connection with a bank fraud case involving loans issued against allegedly forged documents. The convicted individuals are Medam Prasad, the former Senior Manager of UCO Bank’s Chiloda Branch in Gandhinagar; Bhaskar Soni, the former Assistant Manager of the same branch; and Jagrutiben Parikh, the owner of Jagruti Plastics in Ahmedabad.
The case, as per the CBI, was filed on April 27, 2016, against the accused and others. It was alleged that Medam Prasad, while serving as Branch Manager, deceitfully approved and disbursed Cash Credit Limits and term loans totaling Rs 6.43 crore to 17 borrowers based on falsified documents. The investigation revealed that the outstanding dues in these accounts amounted to Rs 3.63 crore by December 2015.
Most of the accounts turned into non-performing assets, with the rest on the brink of becoming NPAs, leading to financial losses for UCO Bank. Following a thorough investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet on November 17, 2017. After evaluating the evidence, the CBI Court found all three accused individuals guilty and sentenced them to three years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a total fine of Rs 30 lakh.
This judgment marks the conclusion of the prosecution related to alleged irregularities in loan approvals at the Chiloda branch of UCO Bank, a case that had been under scrutiny for nearly a decade.
