CBI arrests 2 offenders in separate bank fraud cases

The CBI has arrested two proclaimed offenders who had allegedly been evading trial proceedings for 17 years and four years, respectively, in two separate bank fraud cases, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Jitendra Kumar and Pooja Pahwa, were arrested after sustained efforts and intelligence gathering by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency’s spokesperson said in a statement.

Kumar was allegedly involved in a home loan default dating back to 2002-03, in which the loan was obtained using fake and forged salary certificates, causing a loss of Rs 65.90 lakh to GIC Housing Finance Limited.

“The account was declared NPA immediately after the disbursement of the loan,” the statement said. A chargesheet was filed against Kumar and 18 others in 2006. He allegedly remained absent from trial proceedings and did not appear before the court since 2009.

Kumar was declared a proclaimed offender in January 2013 and arrested from Dwarka Mor in New Delhi on Tuesday.

In the second case, Pahwa was allegedly involved in the diversion and misappropriation of a cash credit facility availed based on false and forged documents, causing a loss of Rs 10.16 crore to Indian Overseas Bank.

“The account was declared NPA in 2012,” the statement said. Pahwa was chargesheeted along with five others in 2017.

A supplementary chargesheet was later filed against four bank officials for allegedly conspiring with the beneficiary company and individuals.

Pahwa, who was declared a proclaimed offender in 2023, was apprehended from Ludhiana in Punjab on August 4 following “continuous intelligence gathering and execution of targeted efforts by the CBI”.

She is currently in judicial custody, it said.