Air India doctor sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment for demanding bribe

New Delhi: A doctor employed with Air India has been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh by a Special CBI court in Gujarat for demanding a bribe of Rs 25,000 in exchange for providing a favourable medical report for a recruit.

In two separate cases, the CBI booked a hotel owner in Uttarakhand for duping a bank of Rs 11 crore and an iron casting company in Rajasthan of Rs 9.62 crore for cheating after taking a loan from a bank, an official said on Thursday. 

While hearing the Air India doctor's case, the Special CBI court in Ahmedabad held Suresh Marotrao Bhagatkar, then engaged with the airline, Mumbai, guilty of indulging in corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, news agency IANS reported.

Also Read:Bhopal doctor buys Toy Drone for son, found in Central Jail

During the trial, the court examined 27 prosecution witnesses and 49 documents/exhibits in support of the charges against the convict.

The CBI had registered the case on January 3, 2011, against Bhagatkar on allegations of bribery/corruption.

It was alleged that the accused conducted a medical examination of a person for his appointment to the post of Security Agent in Air India Air Transport Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of Air India Ltd, and had demanded illegal gratification from the complainant during a conversation over mobile phone to give a favourable blood report.

The doctor had demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 from the complainant.

When the complainant showed his reluctance to pay the bribe, accused Bhagatkar reiterated his demand for a bribe and asked him to deposit the amount in his bank account, the CBI said, adds IANS.

Subsequently, the doctor sent his account number to the complainant on the phone for depositing the demanded bribe.

An amount of Rs 5,000 was also deposited in above mentioned account as per directions of the accused, the CBI said.

After the completion of the investigation, a chargesheet was filed by the CBI on November 9, 2011, against the accused.

In a separate matter, the federal probe agency booked a private company, Hotel Pine Queen, and unknown persons and public servants for carrying out a fraud of Rs 11.78 crore against Punjab National Bank, New Tehri Uttarakhand, after taking loans from the bank and availing an overdraft facility between 2012 and 2016.

Also Read:Pune: Fake doctor gets 2 years of Rigorous Imprisonment