The Kozhikode Sessions Court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to M.P. Rijil, the prime accused in the alleged embezzlement of Kozhikode Corporation funds from Punjab National Bank (PNB).
The bail was granted by District and Sessions Judge S. Krishnakumar with a surety of ₹50,000 and two persons as guarantors. The accused was also directed to surrender his passport to the court and not to move out of the Kozhikode city police station limits.
While considering the bail plea, the court observed that it was not clear from the police report whether the fraud was operated from the Corporation office or the PNB branch, and that there was no reason to keep the accused again in judicial custody.
The defendant’s contention that Corporation employees were behind the manipulation of software that stored information on the Corporation account was also considered while issuing the order.
It was on December 14, 2022 that the former PNB manager was arrested in connection with the multi-crore fraud. The arrest was made after a 16-day investigation.
According to District Crime Branch (Kozhikode City) officials, Rijil was involved in siphoning off ₹11.37 crore from the PNB accounts of the Corporation. He was suspected of spending the money for online games and share market business.
