The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested Bablu alias Ravindra Yadav, wanted in a decade-old bank fraud case, from the Gulawati area in Bulandshahr. Bablu had failed to appear before the court for the final judgment and was declared a proclaimed offender on December 20, 2024.
The case, involving Rs 1.18 crore, was registered by the CBI in 2011 following a complaint from the assistant general manager of State Bank of India, Meerut. The complaint alleged that Nawal Kishore Gupta, then branch manager of Punjab National Bank, Sikandrabad, along with the proprietor of a private company and other unknown persons, opened fake current accounts using forged documents and diverted funds fraudulently.
CBI investigations revealed that Bablu played an active role in diverting the fraudulently obtained funds. While the Special CBI Court in Ghaziabad convicted Gupta, Devraj, and Manoj—sentencing each to five years’ imprisonment—Bablu absconded and remained on the run until his arrest.