Man gets 3-year RI for forging MBBS degree to take loan

A local court has sentenced a man to three-year rigorous imprisonment for allegedly forging an MBBS degree and registration certificate to take a loan to run a dialysis centre.

The accused, Goswami Vishwa Bhushan Bharti, a resident of Sector 15 here, had also contested the Lok Sabha election from Chandigarh 15 years ago.

The police registered the FIR against him on January 12, 2015, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 511 of the IPC at the Sector 3 police station on a complaint filed by a bank officer.

The complainant had stated that the accused, raised a loan of Rs 12 lakh in the name of M/s Arbind Dialysis Centre, Chandigarh, which was sanctioned on January 20, .2014, through the loan processing cell of the State Bank of Patiala, Sector 8-C, Chandigarh.

The bank verified the registration certificate issued by the Delhi Medical Council and found it to be fake.

The bank authorities also came to know that the accused contested the LS election from Chandigarh seat in 2009. In his nomination papers, he declared his qualification as 12th pass.

The complainant alleged that M/s Arbind Dialysis Centre had availed of the loan fraudulently by producing the forged documents.

Finding a prima facie case, the court framed charges under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of IPC against the accused, to which he pleaded not guilty.

The public prosecutor said the prosecution had proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt.

However, the accused denied the charges. He claimed that the proprietor of M/s Arbind Dialysis Centre, Bijay Kumar Chandra, has been examined and he proved on record that he availed of the loan facility and repaid the same and the accused was just a caretaker of the establishment. He did not cause any loss to the complainant bank.

After hearing the arguments, the court said the prosecution had duly proved their case against the accused and it found that the MBBS degree allegedly issued by Mithila University, Darbhanga, Bihar, in the name of accused Goswami Vishwa Bhushan Bharti to be forged.

The particular degree was originally issued in the name of Bijay Kumar Chandra. Further, the certificate of registration allegedly issued by the Delhi Medical Council in the name of the accused was also not registered with the council. As such, the accused is held guilty under Sections 420/467/468 and 471 of IPC. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1,500 on the accused.