Bihar: CBI Court Imposes Two-Year Sentence for BSNL Fraud
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Synopsis
A special CBI court in Patna sentenced Shailendra Srivastava to two years in prison and fined him Rs 60,000 for cheating BSNL. The case involved fraudulent telephone line installations, causing significant financial loss to the company.
Key Takeaways
- Sentencing of Shailendra Srivastava to two years.
- Imposition of a Rs 60,000 fine.
- Fraudulent installations of telephone lines.
- Significant loss of Rs 5.53 lakh to BSNL.
- CBI initiated the case after a lengthy investigation.
Patna, Feb 15 (NationPress) A special CBI court in Patna has sentenced a man to two years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 in connection with a cheating case involving Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Saturday.
The individual, identified as Shailendra Srivastava, commonly known as Pappu Srivastava, hails from Patna.
The case was initiated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on January 14, 2002, and involved Srivastava's fraudulent installation of three telephone lines under fictitious names at a single location.
This fraudulent activity was designed to avoid paying significant bills associated with these lines.
Srivastava altered the classification of these connections from 'Own Your Telephone' (OYT) General to Non-OYT Special, enabling their swift installation through certificates obtained from the Director of Small Scale Industries (SSI) Units.
This categorization was strictly meant for permanent SSI units, not provisional ones. Srivastava's actions, in collaboration with a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), caused BSNL a loss of approximately Rs 5.53 lakh.
After a comprehensive investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on November 25, 2003.
After a lengthy legal battle spanning 23 years, the court found Srivastava guilty, resulting in his sentencing on February 15, 2025, to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 60,000.
In a related case, a CBI court in Kolkata sentenced Chandan Biswas, a former Telecom Office Assistant at BSNL Kolkata, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 for perpetrating fraud against BSNL in 2003.
Biswas, in conspiracy with others, tampered with official records, resulting in a loss of Rs 11,00,926 to the organization.
