A special CBI court on Thursday summoned the former deputy branch manager at Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch Gokulnath Shetty, also an accused in diamantaire Nirav Modi’s PNB scam and his wife Ashalatha Shetty in a disproportionate assets case.
The court has summoned them after taking cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Bureau in the case. It said in its order that it is the contention of the prosecution in the chargesheet along with the evidence filed with it that both the accused being husband and wife as well as public servants have amassed a large number of movable and immovable properties from the check period from 1 April 2011 to 31 May 2017, in their names and in the names of their family members, which are disproportionate to their known sources of income.
Special CBI judge VC Barde further said that the percentage of disproportionate assets is calculated at 590.83 percent, as both accused are found to be in possession of assets to the tune of over Rs. 4.28 Crores against their known sources of income of Rs 72.50 lakh.
It noted that the prosecution has filed sanction orders that it has secured against the couple. “Therefore, keeping in view the contention in the chargesheet and the evidence so produced along with it, a prima facie case appears to have been made out against the accused to proceed further for the offences alleged against them,” the court said and went on to issue process against the duo.
Gokulnath Shetty was last month denied bail in the PNB scam case in which he is in custody.
