The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of International Mega Food Park Ltd, Sukhinder Singh, for allegedly orchestrating a bank fraud of Rs 33 crore.

Two teams of CBI officials carried out separate early morning searches at the house of the accused in Sector 5 in Chandigarh and also at his son’s house in Sector 8. Sukhinder was in Delhi during the raid and his wife was alone in the house. Sukhinder’s son and wife have also been booked.

The raids were part of the CBI’s nation-wide special drive against bank fraudsters during which 50 locations were searched in 18 cities.

The fraud, according to the CBI, involved forging bills of industrial machinery for which Sukhinder had taken a loan of Rs 33 crore from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in 2011 and 2014. It is alleged that the these loans were not repaid and were declared as Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in June 2017.

Sukhinder is also the MD of Chandigarh-based consortium of International Fresh Farm Products India Ltd.

On December 14, 2014, Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and her husband and the then deputy chief minister of the state, Sukhbir Singh Badal, had inaugurated the maiden Rs 136-crore international mega food park at the remote Dabwala Kalan village, about 25km from Fazilka.

On Tuesday, a total of five processing plants under the name of International Mega Food Park were searched across the state. “At three plants, none of the machines shown as installed on paper were found to be installed during our searches,” said a CBI official privy to the matter.

“No machines were procured by Sukhinder. Preliminary investigation shows that the money was used for other miscellaneous purposes. Forged bills were shown to bank officials,” the officer added on the condition of anonymity. He added that after conniving with a Delhi-based supplier, Sukhinder and his family members got the money transferred to the bank account of suppliers’ sister companies.

CBI’s Chandigarh office has registered a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468(forgery for purpose of cheating) and 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation) of the IPC against Sukinder, his wife and son.

First Published: Jul 03, 2019 14:50 IST