Ahmedabad: A special CBI court here sentenced three persons to three-year imprisonment for committing fraud on the central excise department in Surat by claiming rebate wrongfully and causing a loss of Rs 1.18 crore to the state exchequer.Those convicted for conspiracy, forgery and cheating were Sabir Fateh Mohammed, Tejas Desai and Amit Gupta. The court imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them, the prosecuting agency said.According to the case details, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR in 2009 against a Surat-based firm, Shree Sai Impex, Ghanshyam Rafaliya and unknown persons. The allegations were of criminal conspiracy, forgery and cheating.During the investigation, CBI nabbed three persons — Sabir, Desai and Gupta. All four persons were charged with fraudulently claiming rebate by submitting forged documents as real export documents pertaining to the firm, and obtained a total rebate of Rs 1.18 crore on 51 rebate claim applications.During the trial, Rafaliya passed away and the case against him was abated. Sabir was absconding, and the court pronounced its verdict in his absence.
