The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the promoters of the Vadodara-based Diamond Power Infrastructure on Wednesday morning for allegedly defrauding a consortium of banks to the tune of ₹2,654 crore.
The accused – SN Bhatnagar and his sons Amit and Sumit – had absconded after the investigation agency registered an FIR against them earlier this month.
“The company and its directors allegedly managed to procure term loans and credit facilities despite being listed on the Reserve Bank of India’s Defaulters List and the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) Caution List at the time of initial sanction of credit limits by the consortium,” a CBI spokesperson said.
A statement issued by the agency on Wednesday stated that it raided various locations across Vadodara, including the official and residential premises of the accused, on April 5. “After the searches, notices asking the accused to join the investigation were issued. Instead, they absconded and could not be found at their known places of residence,” the spokesperson said.
Bhatnagar and his sons requested anticipatory bail from the special CBI judge in Ahmedabad on April 6, but their petition was rejected four days later. “Even then, the accused did not join the investigation and tried to avoid due process of law. The special judge issued non-bailable warrants (against the accused) on April 13. The CBI located them at Udaipur in Rajasthan with the assistance of the Gujarat police late on Tuesday, and they were arrested on Wednesday morning,” the spokesperson said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhatnagar and his sons requested anticipatory bail from the special CBI judge in Ahmedabad on April 6, but their petition was rejected four days later. “Even then, the accused did not join the investigation and tried to avoid due process of law. The special judge issued non-bailable warrants (against the accused) on April 13. The CBI located them at Udaipur in Rajasthan with the assistance of the Gujarat police late on Tuesday, and they were arrested on Wednesday morning,” the spokesperson said.
{{/usCountry}}They were brought to Ahmedabad and produced before a special CBI court the same afternoon.
The CBI has accused the company – which manufactures electric cables and related equipment – of fraudulently availing credit facilities from a consortium of 11 public and private banks since 2008, leading to an outstanding debt of Rs2,654.40 crore. It allegedly utilised cash credit limits for obtaining a large number of letters of credit, many of which were “force-charged” on the credit limit because they could not be honoured by the company.
Diamond Power Infrastructure was declared a non-performing asset in 2016-17.