Absconding accused in Rs 60 lakh SBI-BSNL fraud case arrested from Patna

Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested absconding accused Manoj Kumar Sinha in connection with a Rs 60.86 lakh bank fraud case linked to a BSNL account in Shillong.

According to officials, the case was registered by the CBI on April 16, 2012, following a complaint by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited alleging illegal withdrawal of funds from its account maintained at State Bank of India’s MG Road branch in Shillong.

The FIR named unknown officials of SBI, BSNL officials in Shillong and other unidentified persons for their alleged involvement in the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 60.86 lakh.

After completion of the initial investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet in 2013 against one accused, Sanjeev Kumar Rai. A supplementary chargesheet was later filed in 2021 against Manoj Kumar Sinha and others.

Officials said Manoj Kumar Sinha never joined the investigation and had been absconding since the registration of the FIR. A court had earlier issued a warrant for his arrest, but he remained untraceable for years.

Following technical surveillance, field verification and analysis of call detail records and open-source intelligence inputs, the CBI traced him to a new address in Patna, Bihar, and arrested him on April 28, 2026.

The accused is expected to be brought to Shillong after obtaining a transit warrant from the jurisdictional court in Patna for production before the Special Judge’s court in Shillong.