Lucknow, Oct 1 (IANS): A CBI court in Lucknow has sentenced a former LIC assistant to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a Rs 6.37-crore fraud case, while three private persons have been awarded three years’ imprisonment each.
The court on September 30 convicted Pankaj Saxena, the then Higher Grade Assistant at LIC’s Transgomti Branch in Jankipuram, along with private persons Prem Shankar Upadhyay, Rekha Upadhyay and Manish Saxena.
Saxena was sentenced to 10 years of RI and fined Rs 5 lakh. The three private accused were sentenced to three years of RI and fined Rs 1.25 lakh each.
The CBI had registered the case on August 13, 2012, following a complaint by the Chief Manager of LIC’s Transgomti Branch. It was said that between February 2006 and August 2010, the accused, in conspiracy with each other, prepared forged payment vouchers and cheques in the names of fake and non-existent policyholders and fraudulently diverted LIC funds.
The fraud resulted in a financial loss of approximately Rs 6,37,66,660 to LIC.
After completing the investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on August 21, 2014, against the accused, including officials of LIC’s Transgomti Branch.
After completion of the trial, the court convicted and sentenced the accused.
In a separate case, the CBI had arrested a Senior Overseer (Civil) of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), Umred Area, in an alleged bribery case.
The agency registered the case on September 30 against the accused officer, posted at Gokul Murpar Sub Area, Umred Area, WCL, based on a complaint.
According to the complaint, the accused had demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000, which was two per cent of the total bill amount of Rs 25,35,693, for releasing payment against the complainant’s third bill related to ongoing contractual work.
The complainant had been awarded a WCL contract for constructing two borewells and installing submersible pumps, along with an internal main line and distribution pipeline, to ensure drinking water supply at the rehabilitation site of Pirwa village.
