Erode (TN): A local court has sentenced four people to three years rigorous imprisonment for defaulting on a loan borrowed from a public sector bank to open a jewellery shop in Gobichettipalayam here. The Judicial Magistrate-1 court in Gobichettipalayam on Monday evening pronounced the verdict and also levied a fine of Rs 5,000 on each convict.
The prosecution case was that four people -- Ponnusamy, his wife Latha, Chinnasamy and Sumathy -- joined hands to start a jewellery shop in Gobichettipalayam in 2009. The partners borrowed Rs 11.85 crore from Bank of Baroda's Nambiyur branch in 2009 for running the store. In 2010, an officer from the bank went through the documents and found the assets were much lower than the borrowed amount. The bank ordered the four people to repay all the loan arrears of a total Rs 12.65 crore within six months but they did not pay any amount.
The bank officer also visited the shop and found no property at the spot in the town. Based on this, the bank lodged a complaint with the police. The case was tried in the Judicial Magistrate-1 court in Gobichettipalayam and Magistrate Vijay Azhagiri convicted the four people.
