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Lucknow, Nov 13 (IANS) A special CBI court in Lucknow convicted Ram Swaroop Mishra, branch manager of Bank of Baroda’s Baskhari branch in Ambedkar Nagar district, in a bribery case and sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000, an official statement said on Thursday.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the case was registered on March 7, 2017, based on a complaint that Mishra had demanded bribe from a loan beneficiary under the Kamdhenu scheme.
The complainant was sanctioned a loan of Rs 20.25 lakh by Bank of Baroda, Baskhari branch. A part of the sanctioned amount was deposited into the complainant’s account, but the account was later put on hold.
When the complainant contacted Mishra to know the reason, the branch manager allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 30,000 to release the balance amount.
After negotiations, Mishra agreed to accept Rs 25,000 as illegal gratification, which was to be paid through a signed blank cheque.
Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap during which Mishra was caught red-handed while accepting the cheque. A check was recovered from him at the time of the trap.
After completing its investigation, the CBI filed the charge sheet on March 31, 2017. At the conclusion of the trial, the special CBI court found Mishra guilty and sentenced him on Wednesday, 12 November.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the CBI said it had arrested a bank manager of Axis Bank in Mumbai for his active role in facilitating the opening of mule accounts.
The accused, identified as Nitesh Rai, bank manager of Axis Bank, was arrested on November 11.
According to the investigation, it was revealed that the arrested bank official colluded with cyber criminals to accept illegal bribes and “abuse his official position to process account opening forms and thereby create channels for circulation and stratification of cyber crime proceeds.”
–IANS
SKP/