20 years on the run: Woman arrested by CBI for Rs 8 crore bank fraud in Bengaluru

In a dramatic breakthrough nearly two decades in the making, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a woman who defrauded the State Bank of India of Rs 8 crore and evaded arrest for 20 years. The accused, identified as Mani M. Shekhar alias Geetha Krishnakumar Gupta, was taken into custody in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

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Originally hailing from Tamil Nadu, the woman had secured the massive loan between 2002 and 2005 from SBI's Overseas Branch in Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru. After defaulting on repayment, she vanished, allegedly changing her name and creating fake documents to assume a new identity.

In 2006, the CBI took over the case but was unable to trace her due to her fabricated identity and altered residential address. She had been living in Indore since, successfully avoiding detection.

The turning point came with the use of advanced facial recognition and comparison technology, which helped investigators match her old photographs with her current appearance. Acting on these leads, officials tracked her down and made the arrest.

Authorities believe her long absence from the radar was enabled by carefully planned identity changes and forged documentation. With this arrest, the CBI has made a significant dent in a case that had remained unsolved for nearly 20 years.