Two Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Fire Insurance Fraud in Ahmedabad

A special CBI court in Ahmedabad has sentenced two individuals to five years of rigorous imprisonment each in a fraudulent fire insurance claim case. The court also imposed a total fine of Rs 60 lakh on the convicts. Rashik J Patel, partner of Mira Chemicals in Bharuch, was sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined Rs 45 lakh. Sanjay Ramesh Chitre, proprietor of S R Chitre Co (Surveyor), received a five-year sentence and a Rs 15 lakh fine. The case, registered in 2006, stemmed from allegations of a criminal conspiracy involving public servants from United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL) to extend a pecuniary advantage of over Rs 36 lakh in a fire insurance claim settlement. Mira Chemicals had reported a fire at its factory in 2002, and the appointed surveyor assessed the damage. However, a CBI investigation revealed the submission of fake bills and vouchers to inflate the damage claims. The CBI filed chargesheets in 2008 and 2010, and the court found merit in the charges after examining numerous witnesses and documents.