CBI court convicts SBI staffer in ₹50 lakh loan fraud case
HYDERABAD: The CBI court in Hyderabad has sentenced V. Chalapathi Rao, a computer operator at the State Bank of India’s Chandulal Baradari branch, to two years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹36,000 in a long-pending bank fraud case involving ₹50 lakh.
Conspiracy with branch manager, wife, and associate
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the case was registered on May 1, 2002 against Chalapathi Rao and three others P.P. Krishna Rao, then branch manager of SBI Chandulal Baradari branch; Viraja, wife of Chalapathi Rao; and Kaleem Pasha, a private individual.
Investigators alleged that between 1996 and 2000, the four conspired to secure pecuniary gains by sanctioning and releasing loans under the ‘big buy’ scheme using false and fictitious documents. The fraudulent transactions caused a wrongful loss of about ₹50 lakh to the bank.
Split trial after accused absconded
After the probe, the CBI filed three charge sheets on December 31, 2004. However, as Chalapathi Rao absconded in 2005, the case against him was split under separate calendar case numbers 08/2006 and 09/2006, while the trials against the other accused concluded earlier.
Arrested in Tamil Nadu in 2024
Following sustained efforts, CBI officials traced Chalapathi Rao to Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, and arrested him on August 4, 2024, while he was allegedly attempting to leave the country using a different identity. After conducting a speedy trial, the CBI court convicted and sentenced him on Friday.
