Lucknow, Nov 13 A Special CBI Court in Lucknow has convicted and sentenced Ram Swaroop Mishra, Branch Manager of Bank of Baroda’s Baskhari branch in Ambedkar Nagar district, to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 in a bribery case, an official statement said on Thursday.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the case was registered on March 7, 2017, based on a complaint that Mishra had demanded a bribe from a loan beneficiary under the Kamdhenu Yojana.
The complainant had been sanctioned a loan of Rs 20.25 lakh by the Bank of Baroda, Baskhari branch. A part of the sanctioned amount was credited to the complainant’s account, but the account was subsequently placed on hold.
When the complainant approached Mishra to inquire about the reason, the branch manager allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 30,000 to release the remaining amount.
Following negotiations, Mishra agreed to accept Rs 25,000 as illegal gratification, to be paid through a signed blank cheque.
Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap, during which Mishra was caught red-handed while accepting the cheque. The cheque was recovered from his possession at the time of the trap.
After completing its investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet on March 31, 2017. Upon conclusion of the trial, the Special CBI Court found Mishra guilty and pronounced the sentence on Wednesday, November 12.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the CBI said that it had arrested the Bank Manager of Axis Bank in Mumbai for his active role in facilitating the opening of mule accounts.
The accused, identified as Nitesh Rai, Bank Manager of Axis Bank, was arrested on November 11.
According to the investigation, it was revealed that the arrested bank official, in collusion with cybercriminals, accepted illegal gratification and “by abusing his official position processed the account opening forms and thereby created channels for the movement and layering of cybercrime proceeds.”
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