COIMBATORE: A former official of the erstwhile Cheran Transport Corporation (CTC) was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment on Friday and fined Rs 3.32 crore 32 years after he was booked for misappropriating funds while auctioning condemned buses.
Judge PK Sivakumar of the first additional subordinate court sentenced P Kothandapani (82), who worked as an Assistant at the Transport Department of CTC. According to sources, Kothandapani and seven others were booked by RS Puram police in 1990 for causing a `28 lakh loss in the auction of condemned buses of CTC between November 1986 and November 9, 1988. It came to light during an audit, following which the general manager of CTC lodged a complaint.
According to the FIR, the accused gave off 14 buses to people who had won in the auction without receiving the full payment and 44 buses by receiving partial payment. CB-CID investigated the case and filed a charge sheet against eight persons in December 1990. During the trial period, four persons died.
The court also imposed a fine of `3.32 crore on Kothandapani, which is to be paid to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC). The court acquitted three persons in the case. Assistant public prosecutor P Krishnamoorthy appeared for the government.