A special court has refused protection from arrest in a fraud case concerning Union Bank of India to a 64-year-old director Chandrakant Patel of company Pushpak Bullions. It reasoned that the gravity of the offences are serious.
๐ฃ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐
The court further said the accused will not be available for custodial investigation if it gives relief and this will affect the interest of the case. At this early stage his plea deserves to be rejected, it added.
The CBI had filed a closure report in its first FIR concerning the matter. The court had rejected it in Oct 2020 and directed it to conduct a fair and impartial probe. The agency had filed a second closure report, which the court had accepted. Four months later, the CBI lodged a fresh FIR in November last year.
๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, ๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐
As per the agency's FIR, the company through its two directors had got credit facilities of Rs. 140 crores sanctioned from the Union Bank of India and Bank of India. The accused allegedly submitted forged financial statements and siphoned off money. This caused a total loss of Rs. 83 crores to the two banks.
The court noted that Patel was director of the firm at the relevant time. Noting the role attributed to him by the CBI of submitting forged documents and siphoning money and inflation sales and purchase figures by accommodating entries, it said his complicity in the offence is immense. It also pointed out that for the offence of forgery, imprisonment is upto life imprisonment. It said further that while considering bail applications, it is supposed to consider the seriousness of the charge and the severity of punishment.
Special CBI judge AS Sayyad stated in the order that the investigation is at a nascent stage and ongoing. In such serious offences, it said, the opportunity needs to be given to the investigating agency to unearth the truth of the crime.
