New Delhi, March 3 A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of an alleged kingpin in an over Rs 8.94 crore bank fraud case, saying that the offense was serious and committed in a systematic manner through layered transactions.
Additional Sessions Judge Shunali Gupta rejected the bail application of the accused, Nitin Birmal Dongre, in an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (South) under Sections 318(4) (cheating of valuable security), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 316(4) (criminal breach of trust), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), 340(2) (fraudulent use of forged documents), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“Considering the seriousness and gravity of the offense, and the fact that a large sum of Rs 8.94 crore has been withdrawn from the complainant's bank account through a criminal conspiracy in which the applicant was the kingpin, and two other persons allegedly involved in the same are still to be arrested, I do not find any grounds to grant bail to the applicant,” the court said in its order dated February 28.
On January 10, 2008, a current account was opened in the name of Larsen & Toubro and Shanghai Urban Construction Operation at Axis Bank's Lajpat Nagar branch in Delhi.
On June 7, 2024, allegedly forged documents were used to change the phone number linked to the account. Subsequently, in July 2024, a person claiming to be an employee of Larsen & Toubro activated corporate internet banking at Axis Bank's Usmanabad branch in Maharashtra.
Between July 11, 2024, and August 30, 2024, an alleged sum of Rs 8.94 crore was debited in 94 transactions and transferred to 24 accounts.
The prosecution alleged that Dongre, in conspiracy with others, siphoned off the funds, and that the mobile number used for internet banking was found to be operating from his handset.
The investigation also revealed that the information regarding the complainant's account was provided by the accused, Ashish Khandelwal, who was an assistant manager at Axis Bank.
The investigating officer (IO) also claimed that large sums were credited to Dongre's bank account, and that he routed the siphoned money through the accounts of fruit sellers, receiving goods and cash in return.
Opposing the bail plea, the prosecution submitted that two co-accused persons are still to be arrested, and that there was a fear that Dongre might tamper with evidence if released.
Dongre's counsel argued that he had been in judicial custody since April 2, 2025, and that the chargesheet had already been filed. He sought parity with co-accused who had been granted bail, and relied on a 2012 Supreme Court judgment to contend that continued incarceration during trial was unwarranted.
Rejecting the argument of parity, the court said, “I may note that the role of the applicant cannot be equated to the role of other persons involved in the conspiracy.”
“Prima facie, the IO has stated that the applicant is the prime accused, as he is the beneficiary of the siphoned off amount, the offense is serious and of grave nature, and merely filing the chargesheet does not dilute the seriousness of the offense or entitle the applicant to bail, especially where the role attributed to the accused is substantial or prime,” said the court.
Thereby, the court dismissed Dongre's bail application.