A special judge at the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) Court in Lucknow has handed down sentences to two public servants for their involvement in a case related to misappropriation of public funds. The court issued two separate sentences based on two different chargesheets.
Jail Sentence by CBI Court
First Chargesheet:
- Shri K.K. Mehta: Former Assistant Manager at UCO Bank, Halsey Road, Kanpur, was sentenced to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs. 4.5 lakhs.
- Shri Vijay Kumar: Former Manager at UCO Bank, IT College Branch, Lucknow, was sentenced to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs. 50,000.
Second Chargesheet:
- Shri K.K. Mehta received an additional sentence of 7 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 3.25 lakhs for other offenses involving forgery and misappropriation of funds.
Overall, the total fine imposed on both accused amounts to Rs. 8.25 lakhs.
Background of the Case
The CBI began investigating this case on September 28, 2005, after receiving a complaint from the Assistant General Manager (AGM) of UCO Bank, Lucknow. The complaint accused Shri K.K. Mehta, Shri Vijay Kumar, and others of being involved in a criminal conspiracy to forge security documents, such as Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs), between June 1997 and November 2004. They allegedly used fake FDRs, which were stolen from the bank, to show that loans were issued from different UCO Bank branches in Lucknow and Kanpur. This led to fraudulent adjustments of loan amounts, allowing them to misappropriate funds.
First Chargesheet Findings:
- Shri K.K. Mehta: While functioning as Assistant Manager at various UCO Bank branches (Chandrawal, Generalganj, Halsey Road, and Hazratganj) from 1997 to 2005, he entered into a conspiracy with Vijay Kumar. Together, they dishonestly obtained two loans in the name of Smt. Roopam for amounts of Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 60,000 dated July 3, 1998, and August 22, 1998, respectively.
- Fraudulent Withdrawals: They withdrew these amounts from a savings account held in the name of Dr. Bhupendra Kumar without the consent of either Smt. Roopam or Dr. Bhupendra Kumar. The money withdrawn was then used to create a demand draft payable to Mehra Brother, a share brokerage firm in Kanpur.
- Falsification of FDRs: When Smt. Roopam requested her original FDRs, K.K. Mehta dishonestly obtained seven blank FDR leaves from Vijay Kumar, who was the Manager at UCO Bank, Kidwai Nagar, Kanpur. He forged the FDRs in Smt. Roopam’s name and gave them to her instead of her actual documents.
Second Chargesheet Findings:
Use of Forged FDRs: Mehta obtained these loans based on forged and fictitious FDRs and adjusted the loan amounts against these FDRs, thereby misappropriating the funds involved.
The investigation for the second chargesheet revealed that K.K. Mehta had fraudulently acquired nine loans in his own name and in the names of his family members and associates. The total amount of these loans was Rs. 4,16,000.
Conclusion
Both K.K. Mehta and Vijay Kumar were found guilty of serious financial crimes involving forgery and misappropriation of public funds. The sentences reflect the court’s efforts to address corruption and fraudulent activities in the banking sector.
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