Gandhinagar: A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Ahmedabad has sentenced four persons, including a surveyor, in two separate fire insurance fraud cases involving fraudulent claims made against an insurance company.

The court awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to Vadodara-based surveyor Jatin Bhanubhai Joshi and three private individuals – Madhusudan D. Bhavsar, Ela N. Patel and Vijay Arvindbhai Kayastha. All four convicts have also been fined Rs 50,000 each.

According to the CBI, two cases were registered on July 16, 2003, in connection with the alleged insurance fraud.

The investigation revealed that Ronald Amarjeet James, then Senior Divisional Manager of New India Assurance Company Limited in Surat, along with surveyor Jatin Joshi and other private individuals, had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to submit fraudulent fire insurance claims using forged documents.

In the first case, the insurance company allegedly suffered a loss of Rs 11.52 lakh due to false claims supported by fabricated documents. In the second case, a fraudulent insurance claim of Rs 20.08 lakh was allegedly obtained.

The CBI filed charge sheets in both matters in 2004.

During the course of the trial, the main accused Ronald Amarjeet James and two other accused – Nilesh Patel and Umesh Patel- died. Proceedings against them were subsequently abated. DeshGujarat