SYNDICATE BANK CMD IN CBI NET

The CBI today arrested six persons including Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Syndicate Bank S K Jain for allegedly taking bribe of Rs 50 lakh for increasing credit limit of some companies in violation of banking rules. After keeping a watch on the activities of Jain for last six months on the directive of CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, CBI sleuths finally swooped on his relative and a Madhya Pradesh- based chartered accountant and arrested them while allegedly receiving cash from representatives of companies which have been involved in coal scam. The CBI has filed two cases against Jain -- accusing him of receiving a bribe of Rs 50 lakh through conduits and abusing his official position to enhance the credit limits of some companies in violation of laid down procedures, official sources said. Sinha, who has been at the forefront of fighting corruption at high places, has been personally monitoring the case and the searches that were being conducted by its sleuths since morning at 20 places in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Bhopal. "We are determined to fight corruption at high levels and today's case was one such example," Sinha told PTI. In this case, CBI alleged that the conduit was the brother-in-law of the CMD and the deal was struck by the chartered accountant who has started his own firm of providing loans to big corporate houses. CBI claimed to have recovered cash to the tune of Rs 21 lakh from Jain's residence besides gold worth Rs 1.68 crore and Fixed deposits upto Rs 63 lakh. In the two FIRs, CBI has named Neeraj Singal, Vice President and Managing Director of Bushan Steel, Ved Prakash Agarwal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Prakash Industries, Pawan Bansal, chartered accountant, Vineet and Puneet Godha (relatives of Jain), Vijay Pahuja, Purushotam Totlani and Pankaj Bansal. It is alleged that Bushan steel used the services of Totlani and the money was handed over to Vineet, the sources claimed and added at that point the CBI arrested both. There was no immediate word on the other three who had been arrested by the CBI.