CBI arrests absconding accused in Bihar bank fraud case after 18 years

November 5, 2026

Patna: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested an absconding proclaimed offender from Punpun in Bihar in connection with a two-decade-old bank fraud case, an official said.

The CBI had registered the bank fraud case immediately against 21 accused, including the accused Raja Bihari, under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the official said in a statement.

Accused Raja Bihari obtained loan from Allahabad Bank in Patliputra Colony Branch of Patna in conspiracy with bank officials and middlemen on the basis of forged title deeds, fabricated property documents, and fake guarantor credentials, the CBI said.

After investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on October 30, 2009, against 21 accused, including accused Raja Bihari.

The Special CBI Court took cognisance of the charge sheet on November 12, 2009.

The accused Raja Bihari did not join the investigation and has been absconding since beginning and evaded the trial.

The accused was subsequently declared a Proclaimed Offender by the Special Court.

Acting on intelligence inputs and sustained efforts, a dedicated team of CBI successfully traced and apprehended the Proclaimed Offender Raja Bihari on Thursday from Punpun in Bihar, the statement said.

In a separate case, a CBI court in Lucknow earlier convicted and sentenced former Bank of Baroda branch manager Subodh Kumar Rastogi to four years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 in a bribery case dating back to 2015.

According to an official statement, Rastogi, who was serving as the Branch Manager of Bank of Baroda’s Balrampur branch in Uttar Pradesh at the time of the offence, was found guilty of demanding and accepting illegal gratification from a borrower.

The CBI had registered the case against Rastogi on October 26, 2015, based on a complaint filed by a businessman who had secured a loan of Rs 5 lakh from the bank for the expansion of his solar lights business.

The complainant alleged that while disbursing Rs 1.25 lakh as a term loan, the branch manager collected around Rs 25,000 under the pretext of chartered accountant fees, stamp paper charges and file processing expenses, the CBI said in the statement.