A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in Lucknow has convicted former Bank of Baroda branch manager Subodh Kumar Rastogi and sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 30,000 in a bribery case dating back to 2015, the agency said in an official statement on Tuesday, November 3. The court delivered its judgment on November 2, 2026.

Source: IANS via Hi India

Rastogi was serving as the branch manager of Bank of Baroda's Balrampur branch in Uttar Pradesh at the time of the alleged offence. The CBI registered the case on October 26, 2015, following a complaint from a local businessman who had obtained a loan of Rs 5 lakh from the bank to expand his solar lights business.

Source: Nation Press

According to the CBI, while disbursing an initial term-loan instalment of Rs 1.25 lakh, Rastogi collected around Rs 25,000 from the borrower under the pretext of chartered accountant fees, stamp paper charges and file processing expenses. He later allegedly demanded a further Rs 25,000 and threatened to close the borrower's account if it was not paid; the agency's trap caught him accepting Rs 10,000 in cash as illegal gratification, the statement said.

The conviction brings to a close a case that took more than eleven years from registration to sentencing. The verdict is subject to the standard appellate process, under which the sentenced former manager may challenge the conviction in a higher court.