BENGALURU: Lokayukta Special Court has convicted four former officials of the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologists and Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University. They have been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of five years and have been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 1,20,50,000.
Lokayukta Special Court Judge RN Sachin Kaushik convicted the accused on charges of causing deliberate loss of Rs 84.31 lakh to the exchequer, by investing the pension fund of Rs 1.33 crore in UTI Mutual Fund, violating the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries University Act, 2004.
The accused are Dr C Renuka Prasad, former director, Institute of Animal Health and veterinary Biologists, Dr RN Srinivas Gowda, former vice-chancellor, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Dr MH Nagesh, former accounts officer, and Ibrahim Shariff, accounts officer, Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologists.
The Special Court sentenced Renuka Prasad and Srinivas Gowda to pay a fine of Rs 40 lakh each, and Nagesh and Ibrahim Sharief to pay Rs 20 lakh each, for the offence punishable under Section 409 read with 34 of IPC.
This apart, all the four accused are sentenced to a six month imprisonment each and a fine of Rs 5,000, for the offence punishable under Section 166 read with 34 of IPC. The first three accused are sentenced to four year imprisonment each, and a fine of Rs 10,000, for the offence punishable under Section 13(2), Prevention of Corruption Act. All these sentences should run concurrently, the court said.
The Court also specified that out of the total fine amount of Rs 1,20,50,000, Rs 1.20 crore should go to the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, and Rs 50,000 should go to the state government.
"The accused have clearly admitted their official roles in investment of Rs 1.33 crores in UTI Mutual Fund. The loss of Rs 84.31 lakh caused, for a period of 5 years 22 days is also not denied. This court concludes that the prosecution has brought home the guilt of accused beyond reasonable doubt," the Special Court said.
PENSION FUND INVESTED IN MUTUAL FUND
According to the chargesheet filed by the Lokayukta police, based on a complaint, the accused had misappropriated Rs 1.33 crore which was the pension fund. They invested this amount in Unit Trust of India Mutual Fund instead of depositing the amount in a nationalised bank. This caused a loss of Rs 84,31,353.20, over a period between June 27, 2007, and September 20, 2012.