DEHRADUN: A special CBI court has sentenced former Uttarakhand Gramin Bank branch manager Ram Avtar Singh Dinkar to four years’ rigorous imprisonment in a multi-crore loan scam, this marks the third time in just three weeks that Dinkar has been convicted in separate corruption cases.
The court also sentenced nine co-accused, beneficiaries of the fraudulent loans, to one year of imprisonment each, dealing a significant blow to the network that siphoned off public funds.
The case, which dates back to the 2014-15 financial year, was unearthed following a formal complaint filed by Puran Chand, the then general manager of the bank, with the Dehradun branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation on March 31, 2017.
Investigations revealed that Dinkar orchestrated a sophisticated criminal conspiracy, colluding with entities like KGN Tractors Equipment. By flouting established banking protocols, the manager sanctioned Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) and crop loans to ineligible applicants. Furthermore, agricultural term loans were issued without mandatory margin money. In a clear violation of policy, the disbursed funds were routed directly to dealer accounts and diverted for non-agricultural purposes, effectively gutting the intent of the loan schemes.
“The accused bypassed every regulatory safeguard to facilitate this fraud,” said Amarendra Singh, senior public prosecutor for the CBI, who led the prosecution. “Through the presentation of 33 witnesses, we established that the bank suffered a staggering loss of Rs 4,81,78,780 due to loans processed on the basis of forged documents.”
The court imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Dinkar, while each of the nine co-accused, Didar Singh, Satnam Singh, Vinod Singh, Inder Prakash Singh, Diwan Singh, Mangal Singh, Devender Singh, Rajwant Singh and Sher Singh, were ordered to pay a penalty of Rs 30,000.
The case originally involved 18 accused. Five individuals had previously pleaded guilty and received separate sentences, while two others died during the trial.
In a dramatic turn during sentencing, the court issued a conviction warrant for Jagir Singh, one of the accused who failed to appear. Although the defence claimed he had died in a recent road accident, the lack of official documentation prompted the judge to order his immediate arrest.