Agartala, Tripura, March 8 (HBTV): A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday convicted four individuals, including a former government official, for their involvement in forgery and embezzlement of funds meant for training bamboo artisans.   

Advocate Prabir Saha, representing the CBI, confirmed this.  The case dates back to 2012 when corruption charges surfaced against an NGO named Women Development Society. Investigations revealed that the NGO, in collusion with a marketing instructor from the Tripura Bamboo Mission, fabricated documents and obtained utilization certificates for training programs that never took place.

Funds ranging from INR four to INR five lakh were fraudulently taken for the non-existent programs.  Upon detection, the case was handed over to the CBI, which filed a charge sheet in 2015.  

Over the course of a decade, the trial proceeded in phases, with 48 witnesses providing testimonies before the final verdict. The court convicted four accused under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), and 468 (forgery for cheating).   

The three convicts—Sanjay Debnath, Kalpana Debnath, and Kamal Krishna Debnath—received four-year prison terms along with fines.   

Achit Kumar Das, a former government employee, was additionally found guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced to five years in jail.