A court in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh has convicted four individuals, including two former bank colleagues, for their involvement in a Rs 1.2 crore bank fraud that took place in 2012. Among those convicted is Vinay Ojha, 67, the father of cricketer Naman Ojha.
The fraudulent activity came to light in 2013 when Abhishek Ratnam, a former employee of the Jaulkheda branch of Bank of Maharashtra, was found to have manipulated 39 Kisan Credit Card (KCC) accounts and five savings accounts. Using the login credentials and passwords of then-branch manager Vinay Ojha and another employee, Nilesh Chhalotre, Abhishek executed unauthorized transactions, the court noted.
Before Vinay Ojha’s tenure as branch manager, Abhishek had worked at the same branch, giving him familiarity with its operations. The fraud came to light when the then-branch manager filed a police complaint on July 7, 2013. Following investigations, five suspects were identified. Ojha was the last to be arrested, apprehended in Indore in June 2022.
The prosecution identified three individuals as the key conspirators: Abhishek Ratnam (41), Dhanraj Pawar (56), and Lakhanlal Hingwe (64). On Tuesday, Second Additional District and Sessions Judge Pankaj Chaturvedi convicted these three along with Vinay Ojha while acquitting one suspect, 35-year-old Nilesh Chhalotre.
Public Prosecutor Rajesh Sable revealed that the court sentenced Vinay Ojha, Dhanraj Pawar, and Lakhanlal Hingwe to seven years in prison and fined them Rs 7 lakh each. Meanwhile, Abhishek Ratnam received a harsher sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 80.4 lakh.
The case highlights the misuse of trust and access within banking institutions, serving as a reminder of the importance of robust monitoring systems.
