Bank manager gets 5-yr RI for embezzlement

Kendrapada: A court in Jagatsinghpur district on Saturday sentenced a former bank manager to five years of rigorous imprisonment for embezzling Rs 2 lakh from a depositor’s account in 2019.The convict, Sohani Tapno, erstwhile branch manager of Syndicate Bank branch at Parahat under Balikuda police station limits, was found guilty of misappropriating funds deposited by a customer.The case was registered in 2019 following an FIR lodged by the secretary of Haribola self-help group, who alleged that Tapno abused her official position and fraudulently withdrew Rs 2 lakh from the SHG’s bank account without the depositor’s knowledge or consent.During investigation, police found that the accused illegally debited the amount from the depositor's account, confirming allegations of financial misappropriation.Pronouncing the verdict, judge Narottama Sethi convicted Tapno under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with criminal breach of trust by a public servant, banker, merchant or agent. The court relied on the testimonies of nine prosecution witnesses and documentary evidence produced by the bank.Public prosecutor Nrusingh Charan Barik said the prosecution successfully established the charges through oral and documentary evidence, leading to the conviction and sentence.