The convict worked as the chief manager at SBI's Chamundipuram branch in Mysuru. (AI image)A Karnataka court has convicted a former chief manager of State Bank of India (SBI) of siphoning off Rs 61.57 lakh from a dead customer’s account and from the bank’s internal funds.The first additional senior civil judge and chief judicial magistrate in Mysuru sentenced Anirudh Vasantrao Kulkarni, former chief manager of the bank’s Chamundipuram branch in Mysuru, to one year’s imprisonment on Friday.According to the prosecution, between May 13, 2009 and December 23, 2011, Kulkarni exploited his position at the bank to siphon funds from the account of Krishna Iyer, who died on April 7, 2005—years before the withdrawals began.The police submitted to the court that Kulkarni drew Rs 40.53 lakh from Iyer’s account and a further Rs 21.04 lakh from one of the bank’s internal accounts, transferring a combined Rs 61.57 lakh into accounts belonging to himself and his son, Nandan Kulkarni.The incident came to light after SBI’s vigilance department received an anonymous letter alleging irregularities at the Chamundipuram branch in December 2011. The bank’s state vigilance chief investigated and filed a report.The case gained further traction when Krishna Iyer’s legal heirs, acting under a court order from Chennai, approached the bank to withdraw the Rs 40 lakh balance from the man’s account, only to discover the money had already been diverted.Also Read | Why Karnataka High Court directed bank to refund Rs 3.25 lakh to womanThe police registered a cheating case in 2012. Kulkarni was arrested and later released on bail. He reportedly repaid Rs 62 lakh to the bank after the fraud was detected. But the court held that voluntary repayment after being caught could not absolve him of criminal liability.Story continues below this adKulkarni’s counsel argued that he was 65, suffered from age-related ailments, had a 90-year-old mother and a wife dependent on him, had no other criminal cases against him, had attended every hearing, and had already repaid the misappropriated amount.However, the court sentenced Kulkarni to one year’s rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine. It also ordered him to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to the bank to cover litigation costs and losses.