Court sentences 6 persons for forgery

New Delhi: A special CBI court has sentenced six persons, including two former bank managers, on graft charges up to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a total fine of Rs 30 lakhs.

P Rajaraman and V.R. Vinaitheerthan, both former managers of the Indian Overseas Bank at Purushawalkam Branch in Chennai, were sentenced by the additional session judge for CBI cases, after the court found them guilty of criminal conspiracy, impersonation and forgery.

Rajaram was sentenced to four years RI and fined Rs 4.5 lakh whereas, Vinaitheerthan was jailed for the same period and fined Rs two lakh.

The CBI probe revealed that the bank officers, in conspiracy with K. Sidhar, Devanand, Mufid Abdullah Sulaiman and M. Nagaraj used forged NRI deposit receipts and fake power of attorneys to fraudulently withdraw the amount by closing the deposits.

The court also sentenced Sidhar, Devanand, Sulaiman and Nagaraj to five years in jail each and imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 lakh, 11.5 lakh, 6.5 lakh and 4.5 lakh respectively.

One accused K Murgan was acquitted by the court.