Chargesheet filed against Chandigarh-based firm in Rs 9 crore bank fraud case
The CBI has filed a chargesheet in the court against Chandigarh-based firm M/s Prerna Strips Limited and its proprietor Nand Kumar Gupta in a case registered one year ago for allegedly defrauding a bank of over Rs 9 crore.
The CBI had registered the case on July 27, 2023, on a complaint moved by Chief Manager of Punjab National Bank, Sector 17-B, Chandigarh, under various sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act-1988 against the firm, proprietor and some public servants.
In the complaint, the Chief Manager of the bank said the firm based in Sector 29-D, Chandigarh, was primarily engaged in the business of manufacturing CR Steel Strips and pipes. He said in 2015 Gupta had approached the erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce (now Punjab National Bank) and sought financial assistance. The firm was initially sanctioned cash credit limit and later upon its request, cash credit limit was converted into working capital term loan facility for Rs 9.50 crore.
The bank further enhanced the sanctioned credit limit from Rs 9 crore to Rs 10.50 crore on March 18, 2015. But after that sales of the firm went down drastically and its account turned NPA on January 30, 2020. He said the alleged fraud was detected during security inspection on October 29, 2020.
Bank officials visited the factory site at Bhankarpur, Dera Bassi, and no stock was available and no production activity was being undertaken, only the factory shed was there. He said the account was declared fraud on October 27, 2021. The information has also been forwarded to the RBI with regard to the fraud.
