Man gets 17 months’ jail for loan fraud

KOCHI: The CBI Court here has sentenced a Thrissur native to 17 months’ imprisonment in a case related to loan manipulation for buying bus and manufacturing bus body in 2001. The court has also slapped a fine of `1 lakh on P M Abdul Lateef, 58 of West Fort, Thrissur.  The court found the accused guilty of offences under section 420, 468 and 120(B) of IPC.

Abdul Lateef was the fourth accused in the case. Three other accused persons were convicted by the court in August this year. Abdul Lateef had gone absconding after he was released on bail. However, he was arrested by the Crime Branch in another case this year. Abdul Lateef had approached SBI Alaggappa Branch for availing of a loan of `27,93,000 for buying two bus chassis and for building bus body in 2001.
He had pledged a 21-cent plot with a 3,800-sq ft building situated at Inchamudy in Thrissur as the collateral. Following the request of Balasundaram, former Chief Manager of SBI, the AGM approved the loan and the amount was transferred to the bus dealer and the body building agency.

However, after Balasundaram was transferred to another branch in 2002, the new manager, on verification of the records, found irregularities in the loan documents. The subsequent inspection revealed the vehicles were registered in the name of Siddarth and they were sold to two other persons from the body building factory.Also, another loan was taken from a private bank for purchasing the same vehicles.