Gujarat-based businessman arrested from Kenya after decade-long hunt

Sanjay Radheylal Gupta had allegedly escaped to Nairobi, Kenya, nearly 10 years ago after committing the fraud.

Mumbai. A Gujarat-based businessman, who was on the run for nearly a decade, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday for defrauding a bank of ₹20 crore.

The central agency had already filed a chargesheet in the case on December 24, 2013, in the Court of Special Judge, CBI, Ahmedabad against the accused persons (HT FILE PHOTO)

Sanjay Radheylal Gupta had allegedly escaped to Nairobi, Kenya, nearly 10 years ago after committing the fraud. He has a Red Corner Notice and a Non-Bailable warrant of a Special CBI Court issued against him. CBI officials said that he was apprehended in Mumbai after he arrived in India on Saturday.

According to the CBI, its Mumbai Economic Offences Branch (EOW) had in June 2012 registered a cheating case against Gupta’s company Nova Shipping Pvt. Ltd., Kishore Poshiya Director of Nova Shipping Pvt. Ltd. and Dharmendra Lohiya, Proprietor of OM Exim, Jamnagar, Gujarat on the complaint of Mukesh Mahajan, Deputy General Manager, Canara Bank, Ahmedabad.

CBI suspects that Gupta entered into criminal conspiracy along with other accused -- Dharmendra Lohiya of OM Exim; Shashi Ranjan Kumar, then manager of Canara Bank, Jamnagar Branch; D. A. Kamble, Officer, Credit Department, Canara Bank, Jamnagar Branch; Krishan Kumar Gulabsingh Chaudhary, Proprietor of Jai Balaji Transport Company, Jamnagar; Hiren Dilipsingh Rathod, Proprietor of Apex Trading company, Gandhidham and Mukesh Azad, Proprietor of Durga Enterprises Gandhidham.

“The accused in connivance allegedly deceived the Jamnagar Branch of Canara Bank during 2007-08 by submitting false transport documents for discounting the bills of Om Exim under ILC opened by Nova Shipping Pvt. Ltd., Jamanagr, and cheated the bank to the tune of ₹20 crore,” a CBI source said.

The central agency had already filed a chargesheet in the case on December 24, 2013, in the Court of Special Judge, CBI, Ahmedabad against the accused persons, including Gupta, for the offences punishable under sections 120-B, 420 of IPC and 13(2), 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The case is presently pending trial before the Special CBI Court, Ahmedabad and currently is at the stage of Prosecution Evidence.

On Saturday, the CBI team while seeking transit remand of Gupta from a holiday court in Mumbai informed the magistrate that the accused was absconding for a decade.

However, Gupta’s lawyer told the court that his client is a law-abiding permanent resident of Kenya and he has been illegally detained and taken into custody by the CBI officials and a kidnapping complaint to this effect has been filed in Nairobi.

The public prosecutor strongly opposed it and informed the court that the accused was taken in custody at the airport and there has been a red corner notice and a Look Out Circular (LoC) issued against him.

Following this, the magistrate granted CBI two-days transit remand of the accused. Gupta will now be produced in a special CBI court in Ahmedabad.