नवीनतम
CBI arrests absconding accused in bank fraud case
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) successfully traced and arrested an accused, Mani M. Sekhar, a long-absconding Proclaimed Offender in an alleged bank fraud case of Rs 8 crore, the probe agency official said on Thursday.
According to the CBI spokesperson, the case was registered at CBI BSFB (Bank Securities & Fraud Branch) Bengaluru on August 1, 2006 against accused persons for having entered into an alleged criminal conspiracy during the period 2002 to 2005 and thereby dishonestly and fraudulently cheating State Bank of India, Overseas Branch, Bengaluru to the tune of Rs 800 lakhs.
The accused, including Ramanujam Muthuramalingam Sekhar alias R.M. Sekhar, MD, Indo Marks Pvt. Ltd. and Mani M. Sekhar, Director, Indo Marks & BTC Home Products Pvt. Ltd, allegedly misused non-fund-based limits in the name of a company and its sister concerns.
“After completion of the investigation, the charge sheet in the case was filed on December 10, 2007. Both the accused Ramanujam Muthuramalingam Sekhar alias R.M. Sekhar (Husband) and Mani M. Sekhar (Wife) failed to join the trial or respond to summons/warrants. Subsequently, they were declared Proclaimed Offenders vide court order dated February 27, 2009,” the CBI said in its statement.
The probe agency further said that despite sustained efforts over the years to trace them, they remained untraceable, prompting the CBI to announce a reward of Rs 50,000 each for clues to informers. While other co-accused were tried and convicted/acquitted in the case, the trial against these two absconding accused remained pending.
"The accused persons had changed their identities and never used the old KYC details. They changed their names to Krishna Kumar Gupta (Husband) and Geetha Krishna Kumar Gupta (Wife), their mobile numbers, emails, PAN numbers and other information which were used before the chargesheet was filed,” CBI added.
The CBI leveraged advanced analytical capabilities of Image Search to track the digital footprints of the absconders. The image comparison and analysis tools led to the identification of the two accused living under changed names and identities in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
It was revealed during the search operation that one of the accused, Ramanujam Muthuramalingam Sekhar, had already expired in 2008 (under a new identity). The other accused, Mani M. Sekhar, was finally arrested on July 12, 2025 and produced before the Court in Bengaluru, which remanded the accused to judicial custody for further trial proceedings.
“With photo matching levels of more than 90 per cent, the image search tools enabled accurate identification despite their assumed identities. This case is a classic example of how technology-driven platforms, when combined with the dedicated efforts of investigating officers on the ground, can significantly enhance law enforcement agencies’ capability to trace and apprehend long-absconding offenders,” the CBI said.
