Former Bank of India manager chargesheeted for alleged ₹36.79 lakh financial irregularities
Raipur: The Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW/ACB), Raipur, has filed a chargesheet against former Bank of India branch manager Bhavesh Vishwakarma for alleged financial irregularities involving ₹36.79 lakh at the bank’s Bade Dongar branch in Kondagaon district.
The chargesheet, spanning around 1,500 pages, was submitted before the special court under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Kondagaon. According to the investigating agency, the alleged irregularities involved unauthorised transfers from bank office accounts, a crop insurance account, customers’ savings and loan accounts, and accounts of self-help groups.
Investigators alleged that Vishwakarma transferred a total of ₹36,79,323 to his personal account at Bank of Baroda’s Kondagaon branch and other accounts by misusing the banking system and the user IDs and passwords of other bank officials without their knowledge or consent.
Vishwakarma was posted as branch manager at Bank of India’s Bade Dongar branch from June 25, 2019, to January 18, 2022. The alleged transactions took place during this period, the agency said.
An offence was registered against him on April 4, 2022, under Sections 13(1)(a) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, and Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code.
The investigating agency said documentary evidence, electronic records and witness statements collected during the investigation provided sufficient grounds to file the chargesheet against the former manager.
Bank of India had also initiated departmental proceedings over the financial irregularities reported during his tenure and dismissed Vishwakarma from service on September 27, 2022.
The allegations will be examined during the judicial proceedings.
