Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Mani M. Sekhar, a proclaimed offender who had been on the run for nearly two decades in connection with Rs 8 crore bank fraud case.
She was traced and picked up from Indore and produced before a court in Bengaluru, officials said. Her husband, key accused in the case died in 2008 while living under his new identity.
Over the years, the couple changed their identities completely and assumed new names. CBI used facial recognition, image search to trace Mani M. Sekhar, absconding since 2006.With photo matching levels of more than 90%, the image search tools enabled accurate identification of the couple despite their assumed identities.
The case was registered on August 1, 2006, at CBI BSFB, Bengaluru, against Ramanujam Muthuramalingam Sekhar, alias R M Sekhar and her wife Mani M Sekhar - directors of various companies.
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The accused conspired between 2002 and 2005 to defraud a nationalised bank in Bengaluru of Rs 8 crore. After evading summons and warrants, both were declared Proclaimed Offenders by the court on February 27, 2009.
Over the years, the couple changed their identities completely. They assumed new names — Krishna Kumar Gupta (husband) and Geetha Krishna Kumar Gupta (wife) — and updated all personal details, including mobile numbers, PAN cards, email IDs and KYC documents.
The CBI tracked them down using advanced image search and digital footprint analysis tools, matching old and new visuals to identify them in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. A CBI team acted on the match and traced the accused to their location. It was later confirmed that R M Sekhar had died in 2008 while living under his new identity.
However, Mani M. Sekhar was arrested on July 12, and presented before the Bengaluru court, which sent her to judicial custody for further trial proceedings.
