A local court has convicted 21 people for swindling more than Rs 73 lakh as claims fraudulently from Employees Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) office here a decade ago.
CBI special judge Manoj Kumar Shrivastava yesterday awarded seven years imprisonment to key accused in case, the then lower divisional clerk Gajendra Singh in the EPFO Sub Regional Office (SRO) here, and imposed a fine of Rs 66 lakh on him.
Three other accused - the then section supervisor Bhopal Pratap Singh, the then section supervisor of EPFO local office CT Joseph and the then assistant officer of EPFO local office D K Chandane -- have been sentenced to five-year imprisonment each and fined.
Seventeen other accused were awarded three years imprisonment each and fined.
The court imposed a total fine of Rs 82.80 lakh on all the convicts including Gajendra Singh.
One of the accused Dhapu Bai was acquitted in the case.
Judge Shrivastava found the convicts guilty of entering into a criminal conspiracy and fraudulently and dishonestly settling 26 claims in the name of people who were not the members of EPFO between 2001-2003.
CBI had registered a case against them under section 120 - B, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 477 - A of IPC and 13 (2) read with 13 (1) (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 on May 31, 2006 on the complaint of the EPFO local office's the then regional provident commissioner Gazala Ali Khan.
A charge sheet was filed against the convicts on December 31, 2007, CBI officials said.
