Mumbai: The Malvani police on Wednesday registered an FIR against seven officers of the State Bank India (SBI) and others for alleged cheating and forgery. The complainant, Manubhai Patel (70) , a former contractor, claimed that in 2011 he deposited 1,000 grams of gold coins (999.9 parts per thousand or 24 carat) with the bank's bullion branch in Fort. Patel alleges that the bank managers provided him with a fake mint test certificate.
Consequently, he approached the Consumer Court the same year. However, the bank officers allegedly submitted a fraudulent affidavit in court. The consumer court gave a decision in favour of Patel in 2017. However, the bank went in appeal and the matter is now pending before the Supreme Court as a civil case.
Meanwhile, Patel filed a criminal case before the metropolitan magistrates' Court in Borivali, which directed the Malvani police to register an FIR and investigate the case.
The accused named in the FIR include P.S. Charhate, the bank's assistant general manager in the bullion Branch, Buchi Raju, chief manager, Ashok Saxena, chief manager, Hariom Agarwal, assistant GMs , K. Parthasarathy and Abhishek Achal and M.K. Shinde, superintendent of the government mint and others.
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According to the FIR, Patel, who resides in Malad West and is a former contractor for Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, purchased ten gold coins worth Rs.10.07 lakhs from the Bank of India’s Goregaon Branch in 2010. He purchased an additional ten gold coins worth Rs.10.21 lakhs from Bank of India’s Malad Branch.
The total weight of the coins was 1,000 grams, with a purity of 999.9 parts per thousand (24 carat). That same year, Patel deposited the gold coins at the SBI's bullion branch under the government’s gold deposit scheme and received receipts from the bank.
The bank directed Patel to the Indian Government Mint to verify the gold’s purity, where he received a certificate confirming that the gold was indeed 999.9 parts per thousand (24 carat) and weighed 1,000 grams.
However, Patel later received two certificates from the bank indicating that his gold coins weighed 999.95 grams and had a purity of 999 parts per thousand (less 24 carat), which was less than the original 1,000 grams and 999.9 (24 carat).
Dissatisfied with the bank's response, Patel filed a complaint against the State Bank of India in the Bandra consumer court in 2011. Patel has alleged that bank officers and officials from the Government Mint conspired against him by submitting fake documents in the Consumer Court.
In 2017, the Consumer Court gave a decision in Patel's favor, directing the bank to return the 1,000 grams of gold coins with a purity of 999.9 parts per thousand (24 carat). In 2018, the State Bank of India appealed the decision in the state consumer disputes dedressal forum, but Patel again won the case. The forum ordered the bank to compensate Patel. Eventually the bank appealed to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, in 2019, Patel approached the Malad police station to file a case against the SBI , but the police refused to register an FIR saying that it was a civil matter. As a result, Patel took the matter to the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Borivali.
Following the court's order, the Malvani police registered a case under sections 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 465 (forgery), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 34 (common intention), 166 (public servant disobeying law), 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), and 405 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code. The Free Press Journal contacted the bank's public relations team, but it did not respond.
