The Punjab state crime police on Saturday booked five people, including a former bank branch manager and two finance company employees, for allegedly using stolen identity documents, forged records and photographs to secure loans in other people’s names.
The case came to light during an inquiry into a complaint by Jaspreet Kaur of Nihal Singh Wala, Moga. Jaspreet, who worked with private lending firm UpMoney to arrange group loans, alleged that her neighbour and relative Harmanjit Kaur took client documents from her mobile phone and used them to obtain loans. Harmanjit allegedly replaced the photographs on the documents with her own before submitting them to lenders.
The accused allegedly obtained a ₹40,000 loan in 2022 in the name of Jaswinder Kaur, who had died in November 2019. Harmanjit allegedly used photographs of her mother on the loan documents and bank passbook to receive the loan.
In another incident, the accused allegedly used Harmanjit’s photograph on Mandeep Kaur’s identity documents and obtained a ₹40,000 loan in her name. The inquiry also found that an account was opened in Mandeep’s name at Punjab & Sind Bank’s Ajitwal branch.
Investigators also alleged that Harmanjit used the identity documents of Jagmohan Singh to present her sister Harjit Kaur as his wife while securing a tailoring business loan from Shubh Lakshmi Finance.
{{/usCountry}}Investigators also alleged that Harmanjit used the identity documents of Jagmohan Singh to present her sister Harjit Kaur as his wife while securing a tailoring business loan from Shubh Lakshmi Finance.
{{/usCountry}}The inquiry also examined the role of former Punjab & Sind Bank branch manager Piyush Walia, UpMoney employee Tarwinder Singh and former Shubh Lakshmi Finance employee Sandeep Singh. Police said they did not follow verification procedures while processing the loan applications and opening bank accounts. The case was registered under Sections 406, 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).