Ahmedabad: A special CBI court in the city has convicted and sentenced four persons, including a former surveyor, to three years of rigorous imprisonment in two separate cases related to fraudulent fire insurance claims that caused losses of over Rs. 31 lakh to New India Assurance Company Ltd.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the court, through its judgment dated May 8, 2026, convicted Jatin Bhanubhai Joshi, then a surveyor in Vadodara, along with private individuals Madhusudan D. Bhavsar, Ila N. Patel and Vijay Arvindbhai Kayasth. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on each of the convicted persons.

The CBI had registered two separate cases of fire insurance claim fraud on July 16, 2003.

In the first case, the accused included Ronald Amarjeet James, then Senior Divisional Manager of New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Surat, M/s Sonu Communications & Colour Xerox, Vadodara, and surveyor Jatin B. Joshi. The agency alleged that during 2002-03, the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy to fraudulently obtain fire insurance claims by submitting forged and false documents, causing a wrongful loss of Rs. 11.52 lakh to the insurance company.

The second case involved Ronald Amarjeet James, Manubhai Dayabhai Patel, Nainesh Suryakant Patel and Jatin B. Joshi. The accused allegedly conspired during 2001-02 to secure fraudulent fire insurance claims on behalf of M/s M.D. Patel & Co. using forged documents, resulting in a loss of Rs. 20.08 lakh to New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Surat.

Following the investigation, the CBI filed two separate chargesheets in June 2004 against the accused persons.

After completion of the trial, the special court convicted the four accused and awarded the sentence on May 8, 2026. The CBI stated that three accused persons Ronald Amarjeet James, Nilesh Dayabhai Patel and Umesh Vithaldas Patel died during the pendency of the trial, following which proceedings against them were abated by the court. DeshGujarat