Shimla, Oct 14: A Special CBI court here on Wednesday sentenced 11 accused, including two former Canara Bank officials and a private company, to four years of rigorous imprisonment in a bank fraud case involving alleged fraudulent loans worth Rs 7.91 crore. The court also imposed a total fine of Rs 19.75 lakh on the convicts, including M/s Colour Camp Industries, two public servants and eight private individuals.
The two bank officials convicted in the case are D.S.S. Ravindra, the then Chief Manager, and C.S. Verma, the then Officer, both posted at Canara Bank’s Baddi branch in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district. The eight private individuals convicted are Rakesh Narula, Sonal Narula, Sanjeev Bahal, Harbhajan Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Piara Singh, Suman Narula, and Sunil Kumar Goel.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the case was registered on May 8, 2012, against the two bank officials, Rakesh Narula, M/s Colour Camp Industries, and other unknown public and private persons. The agency alleged that the accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy between October 2008 and March 2009 to cheat Canara Bank’s Baddi branch by using forged documents to secure loans.
As part of the alleged fraud, a working capital loan of Rs 7 crore and a term loan of Rs 91 lakh were sanctioned and disbursed in favour of M/s Colour Camp Industries Private Limited. The CBI further alleged that foreign bills of exchange worth Rs 4.87 crore, discounted by the bank for the company, were also not realised from the importers, resulting in further losses to the bank. Following the investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet against the bank officials and private borrowers and other persons before the Special Judge, CBI, Shimla.
After completion of the trial, the court convicted all 11 accused on September 30, 2026, and pronounced the sentence on Wednesday, October 14. The sentencing marks the conclusion of the trial in the bank fraud case registered more than 14 years ago.
IANS