A special CBI court in Patna sentenced two years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 to a man in a cheating case involving Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) The accused was identified as Shailendra Srivastava, also known as Pappu Srivstava, a native of Patna. The case, registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on January 14, 2002, pertained to Srivistava fraudulently installing three telephone lines under fictitious names at a single premises. His actions, in collusion with a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), resulted in a loss of approximately Rs 5.53 lakh to BSNL. He manipulated the categorisation of these connections from ‘Own Your Telephone’ (OYT) General to Non-OYT Special, facilitating their immediate installation based on certificates from the Director of Small Scale Industries (SSI) Units. He was found guilty after extensive legal proceedings of 23 years, leading to his sentencing on February 15, 2025.
