SBI Dhanbad Fraud: CBI Arrests Two Fugitives After 20-Year Hunt in ₹1.25 Crore Bank Scam Case

New Delhi (IANS): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended two long-evading proclaimed offenders wanted in a major bank fraud case involving the misappropriation of over ₹1.25 crore from the State Bank of India’s (SBI) main branch in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

The accused, identified as Brijbhushan Prasad and Kartar Singh, had been on the run since the investigation began in 2005. They were arrested on June 21, 2026, during a synchronized, multi-state intelligence operation coordinated across Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

Case Fact Sheet

• The Crime: Fraudulent siphoning and misappropriation of ₹1.25 crore from the main SBI branch in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
• Period of Offense: November 2002 to June 2005.
• Case Registered: August 31, 2005.
• The Flight: Both suspects initially crossed international borders into Nepal to avoid detection, subsequently living under false identities inside India.
• The Arrests: Brijbhushan Prasad was captured in Kopargaon (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra), and Kartar Singh was intercepted in Raipur (Chhattisgarh).

The Decades-Long Chase & International Flight

The case traces back to August 2005, when the CBI registered a formal complaint regarding internal bank irregularities at SBI’s commercial hub in Dhanbad. Investigators discovered that between 2002 and 2005, the duo manipulated banking systems to divert over ₹1.25 crore before vanishing entirely as the agency closed in.

To evade Indian law enforcement, Prasad and Singh crossed the open border into Nepal, hiding out for several years. A specialized CBI special court subsequently designated them as Proclaimed Offenders, which triggered the issuance of Red Corner Notices alongside a standard cash reward of ₹25,000 for any actionable information leading to their whereabouts.

Technical Surveillance Triggers Twin Arrests

The breakthrough materialised after the CBI’s economic offenses and intelligence wings deployed advanced technical surveillance, digital footprints mapping, and deep-cover local tracking. Investigators discovered that the fugitives had quietly slipped back into India, establishing entirely new lives under assumed names.

On June 21, field units executed two simultaneous raids thousands of kilometres apart:

• In Maharashtra: Teams closed in on Brijbhushan Prasad at a hiding spot in Kopargaon, within the Ahmednagar district.
• In Chhattisgarh: Mirroring the operation, Kartar Singh was tracked down and arrested in the capital city of Raipur.

“This operation reinforces the agency’s steadfast commitment to pursuing financial fugitives and economic offenders, regardless of how many years or decades have elapsed since the commission of the crime,” a senior CBI official stated.

Both individuals are currently being produced before a competent transit court to face formal charges and undergo custodial interrogation. This development marks one of the longest pending financial fraud closures executed by the CBI’s regional operations in Jharkhand recently.