Vadodara: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two proclaimed offenders who had been absconding for several years in connection with major bank fraud cases. The accused, identified as Sanjay Sharma alias Sanjeev Dixit alias Pankaj Bhardwaj from Banswara in Rajasthan and Sheetal Sharma alias Aarti Sharma from Vadodara in Gujarat, were apprehended on January 30, 2026.

Sanjay Sharma was wanted in two separate cases and had been declared a proclaimed offender in August 2016 and November 2017. Aarti Sharma was accused in one case and was declared a proclaimed offender on August 30, 2016. The first case, involving an alleged fraud of Rs 9.95 crore, was registered on March 13, 2013 against bank officials of Punjab National Bank (PNB), Sanjeev Dixit, Aarti Sharma, and other unknown persons. The second case, involving Rs 4 crore, was registered on July 11, 2013 against Sanjiv Dixit, Sanjay Sharma, Indra Rani, and others.

According to the CBI, Sanjay Sharma was earlier arrested by Haryana Police on March 27, 2014 but later escaped while being produced in a Sonipat court on July 4, 2016, after which he went underground.

The agency said coordinated efforts and extensive open-source intelligence revealed that Sanjay Sharma was living under a false identity as Pankaj Bhardwaj. Using data analytics, human intelligence, mobile tracking, and financial transaction analysis, investigators were able to trace the locations of both accused.

Following a meticulously planned operation conducted simultaneously in two cities, the CBI successfully arrested the proclaimed offenders. Officials said they were found carrying forged identity documents at the time of arrest.

The accused were produced before a competent court, which granted transit warrants to bring them to Delhi for further proceedings before the courts that had issued the proclamation orders. DeshGujarat