A magisterial court in Sanand on Thursday convicted Raman Patel – the owner of Popular Builders – of criminal conspiracy and forgery in connection with two land-related fraudulent transactions in Chekhla village of Sanand taluka in 1996.

The court sentenced Patel, who is in his 70s, to four years’ simple imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 1.40 lakh.

The court also ordered remittal of Rs 1 lakh from Patel’s fine to the legal heirs of the land owner defrauded by Raman.

According to District Government Pleader Pravin Trivedi – who represented the prosecution side – five other accused persons in the case are absconding, including Raman’s brother Dashrath.

Both Raman and Dashrath were witnesses of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a 2005 criminal case, popularly known as

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