Pune court rejects anticipatory bail of teacher, businessman in Rs 149 crore bank account case
A Pune court refused anticipatory bail to a woman teacher and a businessman booked over misuse of digital signatures in a firm's bank account.
A court in Pune has rejected the anticipatory bail applications of a woman teacher and a businessman in a case involving transactions worth crores of rupees. Additional Sessions Judge Moreshwar Kulkarni passed the order.
The court recorded in its order that large sums appear to have been credited from the account of the company concerned to the accounts of companies linked to the accused. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are also probing these financial transactions.
The case concerns the bank account of a company that works by bidding for government tenders. It has emerged that irregularities were committed in this account through misuse of a digital signature and forged signatures. Those whose anticipatory bail was rejected are Aparna Vaidya and Pramod Talwar. A case has been registered against six people, including these two, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. The other four are the main accused, Kamaldeep Amariksing Vaidya, chartered accountant Amar Pramod Talwar, Sargerao Jedhe and Digvijay Jedhe.
The complaint was filed by the head of a private company in Kharadi. The incident is said to cover the period from 2023 until the case was registered. The complainant needed a loan, so the main accused, Kamaldeepsingh, introduced the complainant to CA Amar Talwar.
The complainant was asked to open an account at the Aundh branch of a private bank. A pen drive containing a digital signature and SIM cards were also taken from the complainant and the complainant's wife. In February 2024, the complainant took a loan of Rs 8 crore from a cooperative bank and bought 16 dumper trucks. The trucks were used for government tender works.
According to the complaint, 14 of these trucks were given to Sargerao Jedhe and Digvijay Jedhe in June 2024. The verbal agreement was that rent of Rs 24,000 per truck per day would be paid. The complainant alleges that the rent was not paid and that threats were received from the people concerned. In November 2024, a notice from the GST office then revealed that transactions of Rs 149 crore had taken place through the complainant's bank account.
The anticipatory bail application was filed by Aparna Vaidya and Pramod Talwar. The accused's lawyers argued that there was a delay of 16 months in registering the case. The court did not accept this argument. It said the investigation is continuing and that transactions of crores of rupees took place in the accounts of companies linked to the accused. Citing the GST and ED probes, the court also noted the need for custodial interrogation of the accused.
