Four officials of a public sector steel firm were held guilty of causing a loss of over Rs.2 crore to the government, and were sentenced to four years' imprisonment by a court here Thursday.
The Special Judge for CBI cases, Dwarka, found Bhima Raju Prasad, then regional manager of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd., and A.K. Gupta, then marketing manager, along with Anil Verma, proprietor of Verma Transport Company, and Avinash Chander Chanana, a resident of Delhi, guilty of causing a loss of Rs.2.01 crore to the exchequer.
In addition to the jail term, Prasad and Gupta were fined Rs.15 lakh each, Chanana Rs.10 lakh and Verma Rs.1.05 crore. All the accused are in judicial custody.
"We had registered a case January 4, 2001... the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy for causing wrongful loss to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (of which Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited is a corporate entity) and corresponding gain for themselves," the CBI said.
"The accused public servants recommended and managed to get exorbitant increase in the rates of handling and transportation contract awarded to Verma Transport Company," it added.
After investigation, a charge sheet was filed May 20, 2002, under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the four accused, the agency said.
