Cheekati Narsimha Rao, former general manager of Printing Services Limited was on Tuesday charged with stealing over Ksh 254.4 million from his employer.
Narsimha Rao, who appeared before magistrate Caroline Nyaguthii was also charged with forging the signature of Indian-Kenyan author and publisher Malkiat Singh Dhillon, in an attempt to falsely promote himself as a production manager at a printing company.
The charge sheet states that Rao, on diverse dates between January 1, 2016 and August 31, 2024 within Nairobi city county, jointly with others not before court being a servant to Printing Services Ltd, stole Sh 254,461,768, the property of Printing Services, which came into his possession by virtue of his employment.
He is accused of forging Malkiat Singh Dhillon’s signature on an appointment letter that falsely promoted him to the position of Production Manager at Printing Services Limited.
The letter was purported to have been signed by Dhillon, who is also the Managing Director of the company.
After pleading not guilty, he requested the court to grant him reasonable bail terms, stating that he had been unemployed since April 2024 and had been unwell. He further argued that he is not a flight risk.
However, Lawyer Kimani Wachira, representing the complainant Malkiat Singh Dhillon, requested that the court compels Rao to also deposit his passport, citing previous attempts by the accused to leave the country.
The magistrate ordered the accused person to be released on a bond of Sh 10 million or a cash bail of Sh3 million pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Rao was also ordered to deposit his passport with the court and not leave the country without prior permission.
The case will be mentioned on March 12, 2025, for further directions.
Cheekati Narsimha Rao waa first charged with forgery in 2024, an offence he is said to have committed on 1 April, 2010.