Inter-State gang allegedly forged warehouse documents and used identities of farmers from Mauda, Ramtek to secure loans
Nagpur: Nagpur Rural Police have arrested three more suspects in an alleged inter-State fraud involving agricultural loans worth ₹73.82 crore obtained from the State Bank of India (SBI) by misusing the identities and land records of poor farmers. The accused allegedly collected farmers' Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and land documents on the pretext of helping them access government crop-loss compensation before using the papers to secure loans through forged warehouse records.
The fraud allegedly involved SBI branches in Mauda and Ramtek, where loans worth ₹54.69 crore and ₹19.13 crore, respectively, were obtained in farmers' names. Police suspect that the accused created fictitious companies and routed the loan amounts through accounts linked to these entities.
The latest arrests were made in Bengaluru and Jabalpur following an investigation by the Nagpur Rural Police's Economic Offences Branch (EOB) and Local Crime Branch. Dr Madan Gopal Mallikarjun Patil (26) was arrested from Bengaluru on November 1 by a team led by Police Inspector Yogesh Kamale of the EOB.
On November 3, a team led by Local Crime Branch in-charge Police Inspector Ankush Mane arrested Priyaranjan Ashok Kumar Chaudhary (42), alias Gaurav Mishra and Gaurav Jaiswal, and Rahul, alias Sandeep Satish Dubey (37), from Nakshatra Nagar in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
According to investigators, the gang targeted illiterate and less-educated farmers by telling them that opening an SBI account was necessary to receive an annual government payment of ₹10,000 as compensation for crop losses. After gaining their trust, the accused allegedly collected their identity documents and 7/12 land extracts and took them to bank branches.
The farmers were allegedly made to sign documents in English without being informed that the papers would be used to obtain large agricultural loans in their names.
Fake WDRA licences, warehouse receipts used to secure loans
Investigators found that the accused allegedly procured forged warehouse licences in the name of the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA), Delhi. They then used these licences to generate fake electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (eNWRs), which were submitted to SBI to obtain loans under the Produce Marketing Loan (PML) scheme.
Police have registered cases against 18 accused at Mauda and Ramtek police stations in connection with the fraud. The investigation was transferred to the EOB on the directions of Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police Harssh A. Poddar.
The EOB had earlier arrested another accused, Sachin Karmore. Subsequent investigation and analysis of technical evidence helped police identify and track the three suspects arrested recently.
Patil is a resident of Brigade Meadows on Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru. Chaudhary, who originally hails from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, was staying in Jabalpur. Dubey is a resident of Kharpuriya in Patan tehsil of Jabalpur district.
Police said Chaudhary has allegedly been involved in several similar cases registered in Karnataka. Investigators are now tracing the remaining suspects, most of whom are believed to be based in different states, and attempting to establish the entire network and track the money diverted through the alleged fraud.
