Patna/Shillong: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an absconding accused in connection with a Rs 60.86 lakh bank fraud case involving the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), nearly 14 years after the registration of the FIR, officials said on Tuesday. 

The accused, identified as Manoj Kumar Sinha alias Manoj Sinha, had been evading arrest since the registration of the FIR in 2012 and never joined the investigation, the agency said.

According to the CBI, the case was registered on April 16, 2012, based on a complaint by BSNL against unknown officials of the State Bank of India (SBI) Main Branch in Shillong, officials of BSNL in Shillong, and other unidentified persons. It was alleged that Rs 60.86 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn from a BSNL account maintained at SBI’s M.G. Road branch in Shillong.

Following the initial probe, the agency filed a chargesheet on December 23, 2013, against one accused, Sanjeev Kumar Rai, before the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Shillong. Subsequently, after further investigation, a supplementary chargesheet was filed on July 22, 2021, against Manoj Kumar Sinha and others.

CBI officials said that Sinha consistently avoided joining the investigation and was declared an absconder. A warrant of arrest had also been issued against him by the competent court, but he remained untraceable for years.

''Based on sustained efforts involving field verification, technical and physical surveillance, call detail record (CDR) analysis, and open-source intelligence (OSINT), the accused was finally traced to a new location in Patna, Bihar,'' a CBI official said.

The accused was apprehended by a CBI team from Patna on April 28.

The agency said that Sinha will be produced before a local court in Patna to obtain a transit remand. He will then be taken to Shillong and produced before the Court of the Special Judge, where further legal proceedings in the case will take place.

The arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the long-pending case, with the agency reiterating its commitment to tracking down absconders and ensuring accountability in financial fraud cases involving public sector institutions.