CBI arrests 5 officials from RLDA, BoB for misappropriation Rs 31.50 cr

The CBI has arrested five people, including two retired officials of the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) and Bank of Baroda in connection with alleged misappropriation of Rs 31.50 crore, officials said Monday.

The agency presented the arrested accused - RLDA's former manager Vivek Kumar, former branch manager of Bank of Baroda Jaswant Rai, and three private individuals Gopal Thakur, Hitesh Karelia and Nilesh Bhatt - before a special court, which remanded them to judicial custody, the officials said.

The CBI had registered the case on a complaint by the RLDA alleging it had suffered a loss of Rs 31.50 crore by unidentified individuals.

"It was alleged that the RLDA had initially invested an amount of Rs 35 crore (approx) for one year in the form of fixed deposit (FD) at Bank of Baroda, Vishwas Nagar branch, Shahdra, Delhi and thereafter the maturity proceeds were supposed to be re-invested, for a period of three months," a CBI spokesperson said.

He said the bank allegedly invested only Rs 3.50 crore and remaining Rs 31.50 crore was diverted to different shell companies with the connivance of bank officials, RLDA officials and private individuals. The amount was misappropriated using forged letters and advisories purported to have been issued by RLDA officials.

"Searches were earlier conducted at 12 different places, including Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Himachal Pradesh," the spokesperson added.