BENGALURU: Dispensing justice can sometimes take a lifetime. The designated CBI court in Bengaluru has convicted an individual after 19 years in a bank fraud case. The pace of the trial was such that one of the two main accused died in the interim period.
One Shyam M Ganglani was sentenced to five years imprisonment with fine of Rs 4 lakh in the bank fraud case which the CBI had registered against the then chief manager, Canara Bank, Basavanagudi branch, and others on July 31, 2002 on a complaint from the bank. The former passed away during the trial.
“The case involved Ganglani and three other accused for cheating Canara Bank, Basavanagudi branch, in the matter of closing some Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) deposits by creating forgedapplications and thereby causing loss of around Rs.1.34 crore to the bank,” the CBI has stated. The FCNR deposits are designed to provide NRIs with an option to park their foreign earnings in Indian banks without converting their savings into Indian Rupee.
The FCNR deposits can be made in foreign currency. The CBI had filed a charge sheet against the four accused, including the then chief manager of the bank, and some others on June 3, 2003. But the trial in the case lasted almost two decades. The trial court has convicted the two accused and acquitted two others. The case against the then chief manager, Canara Bank, was abated as he had expired, the central anti- corruption agency has stated.