CBI files charge sheet in Syndicate Bank bribery case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet in the 2014 bribery case naming then Syndicate Bank chairman-cum-managing director S.K. Jain and Bhushan Steel Ltd. vice-chairman Neeraj Singhal as accused in the case, sources said Thursday.

The charge sheet was filed before Special Judge Gurdeep Singh, who posted the matter for October 12 after CBI sought more time for filing some other documents in the case as as they are voluminous.

CBI, in its charge sheet filed on Monday, named Jain, Singhal, middleman Vineet Godha, Puneet Godha, Vijay Pahuja and Pankaj Kumar Tiwari as accused in the case. All the six were charge sheeted under various section dealing with criminal conspiracy and various provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with bribery and criminal misconduct.

However, the CBI gives clean chit to two accused - alleged middlemen Purushottam Lal Totlani and Arun Agarwal - saying that it did not found any evidence against them.

The agency has alleged that Jain has received a bribe of Rs.50 lakh through conduits and abused his official position to enhance the credit limits of some companies in violation of laid-down procedures. CBI said that sufficient oral and documentary evidence against the accused and requested court to summon and try them in the case. It has cited 80 witnesses to support its case.

Jain was then Syndicate Bank chairman-cum-managing director but his service was terminated in September 2014, when he was arrested by the agency in the case.

All the accused are out on bail. Jain was arrested on August 2 and granted bail on October 1.