Hisar Samiti’s prez, secy get one-yr jail

Chandigarh, January 25

Hisar-based Manav Nirman Samiti’s president and secretary were today awarded one-year jail term each by a local court in nine cheque bounce cases. The court has also ordered its president Dr CP Gupta and secretary Dr Seema Rani to pay Rs 58 lakh to the complainant, SBI.

The bank’s counsel Leena Bhardwaj and Rajiv Bhardwaj stated the samiti based at Zevra village in Barwala tehsil had taken Rs one crore loan from a local SBI branch on March 15 in 2008. The next year, the organisation again took Rs 80 lakh loan from the bank. After paying a few installments, it stopped making the payment to the bank. Even after several reminders and notices to the organisation, the amount was not paid. The samiti asked for one-year time from the bank, but still failed to make the payment. Later, the samiti gave nine cheques of Rs 58 lakh to the bank, but they all bounced. Having exhausted all its efforts, the bank filed a case in the court, which today convicted the two. —TNS