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CBI records 80pc conviction rate in city

By R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Dec 29 � The Guwahati branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has achieved 80 percent conviction rate so far this year, while, the number of cases registered by the Bureau has also gone up compared to last year.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, the head of the CBI Guwahati branch, H Nath said that the branch registered 21 cases so far this year, of which 16 are regular cases and the rest five are preliminary enquiries started by the Bureau. Last year, the Guwahati branch of the CBI registered 17 cases.

Giving an account of the major cases of the CBI this year, Nath said that there were two important �trap cases� and one senior officer of the Airports Authority of India was arrested in connection with one such case. One disproportionate assets case has been registered against a senior officer of the Guwahati Refinery and investigations are on.

Nath said that one of the major cases dealt with by the Bureau was against PK Ghoshal, Chief Manager of the Itanagar Branch of the UCO bank. He said that the bank officer extended credit limit of a non existent firm to Rs 1.75 crore and after withdrawing the money, the firm could not be traced. The CBI also registered two cases of irregularities in civil work in the Air Force base in Guwahati.

One Block Development Officer was arrested after financial assistance was distributed to 200 non existent self help groups in Assam through the Punjab National Bank, while, one person duped the Assam Gramin Bikash Bank, Pathsala branch by withdrawing Rs 58 lakh by hacking into the computer of the bank.

The CBI is investigating into two cases of irregularities relating to selling of coal at subsidized rate. Nath said that in one of the cases, coal to be sold to the marginal users at subsidized rate was sold in the open market and while investigating into the case, CBI has already conducted a series of raids and recovered an amount of Rs 47 lakh. In the other case, coal procured from the Coal India at subsidized rate for using in a cement plant in Meghalaya was used in a coke industry in Assam, which was illegal.

During the year, the conviction rate achieved by the CBI Guwahati branch was 80 percent as the accused were convicted in eight of the 10 cases disposed off by the courts and one case had to be dropped following the death of the accused during the period of trial. Nath said that one of the most important conviction of the year was that of a Senior Divisional Engineer of Railway posted in Tinsukia , Brijesh Galav, who was arrested in a trap case in 2009. The accused has been awarded four years rigorous imprisonment.

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