21 years on, CBI arrests proclaimed offender for defrauding Bank of Baroda of ₹6 crore

CBI arrests Dinesh D Gehlot in Noida, a proclaimed offender in a ₹6 crore bank fraud case, after 21 years of being untraceable.

MUMBAI: Twenty-one years after being untraceable, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Dinesh D Gehlot in Noida, a proclaimed offender wanted in connection with a ₹6 crore bank fraud case. Officials said the arrest was the result of sustained and meticulous efforts by the investigating team.

21 years on, CBI arrests proclaimed offender for defrauding Bank of Baroda of ₹6 crore

A proclaimed offender is a person who has been declared due to their failure to appear before the court in response to a criminal case, despite being summoned or issued a warrant.

The case was originally registered on May 31, 2004, for defrauding Bank of Baroda by obtaining a housing loan on the basis of forged and fabricated documents.

Following the completion of investigation, a charge sheet was filed on April 30, 2007, naming Gehlot as one of the conspirators in the offence of cheating and defrauding the bank.

According to CBI sources, the accused failed to appear before the trial court or respond to summons and warrants, and had been untraceable since 2004.

Several non-bailable warrants were issued against him, and on December 9, 2024, a special CBI court in Mumbai issued a proclamation order. Despite repeated efforts over the years to locate him, the accused continued to remain absconding.

The CBI eventually deployed advanced technological tools and identity-tracking databases to analyse his digital footprint and determine his current identity and whereabouts.

This exercise, supported by extensive field investigations and ground-level inquiries, helped the agency to finally trace him to Noida. He was apprehended on August 20, 2025, after his identity was confirmed.

Gehlot was produced before the special CBI court in Mumbai, which remanded him to judicial custody for further trial proceedings.