Ahmedabad, July 18 (IANS) A special CBI court in Ahmedabad has sentenced a former Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) branch manager and a private individual to three years' rigorous imprisonment after finding them guilty in a bank fraud case involving fraudulent greenhouse project loans that caused a loss of Rs 2.60 crore to the bank, an official statement said on Saturday. The CBI said: "The court on Friday convicted Neeraj Kumar Jain, the then branch manager of Indian Overseas Bank, Himmatnagar, Gujarat, and private individual Ketankumar Mohanlal Patel. The court sentenced both to three years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed fines of Rs 2.60 lakh on Jain and Rs 1.10 crore on Patel, taking the total fine to Rs 1,12,60,000."According to the CBI, the case was registered on May 8, 2014, against Jain and 15 private individuals.

The agency alleged that while serving as branch manager between October 2012 and September 2013, Jain entered into a criminal conspiracy with Nileshkumar Dayabhai Patel, Ketankumar Mohanlal Patel and 13 other borrowers to cheat Indian Overseas Bank by using forged documents to obtain loans for greenhouse projects.The CBI alleged that the conspiracy resulted in a wrongful loss of Rs 2.60 crore to the bank and corresponding wrongful gains for the accused. It further alleged that Jain abused his official position by sanctioning and disbursing the loans despite the fraudulent documentation.During the investigation, the agency found that Jain had sanctioned and disbursed 14 agricultural term loans for greenhouse projects.It alleged that Nileshkumar Dayabhai Patel and Ketankumar Mohanlal Patel secured two and 12 loans respectively by applying in the names of relatives and acquaintances. Each loan was sanctioned for Rs 19 lakh.

After completing its investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on December 24, 2014, against Jain and three private individuals: Nilesh Dayabhai Patel, proprietor of M/s Riya Irrigation, M/s N.D. Agriculture and M/s My Global Village, Sabarkantha; Ketankumar Mohanlal Patel; and Avinash Yashwantkumar Patel, proprietor of M/s Sagar Drip Irrigation, Kishan Agromill, Sarkari Jin Road, Himmatnagar.Following the trial, the court convicted Jain and Ketankumar Mohanlal Patel.The charges against Avinash Yashwantkumar Patel could not be substantiated, and he was acquitted of all charges.The trial against Nilesh Dayabhai Patel has been separated as he is absconding.

/IANS