E-Paper
Jewellery businessman duped of ₹29 lakh by fake loan agents
After the businessman made payments of the processing fee to various accounts as instructed by the accused, they could no longer be contacted, the police said
Mumbai: A businessman from Malad was allegedly duped of ₹29 lakh by three individuals who promised him loan for expanding his business and demanded the amount for processing the loan of ₹1 crore. After the businessman made payments to various accounts as instructed by the accused, they could no longer be contacted, the police said.
According to the police, the complainant Narpatram Bhuparam Dewasi, a resident of Malad, owns an imitation jewelry packing business. He came across a mobile app that provided easy loans. He installed the app in June and applied for a ₹1-crore loan, after which a person named Nitinkumar called him and said he was eligible to avail the loan under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, said a police officer.
“Dewasi submitted the loan application and the required documents to him, after which Nitinkumar sent him the loan approval letter on WhatsApp. Following this, he told him he was required to pay processing fees and said another person would contact him and guide him through,” the officer said.
Subsequently, another person named Ashwinkumar called Dewasi, claiming to be a banker at a nationalised bank and also shared his ID on WhatsApp. “He asked Dewasi to transfer the money urgently to get the loan. Trusting him, Dewasi transferred ₹9.53 lakh to various bank accounts, as instructed by Ashwinkumar,” he added.
After this, he neither received any loan amount nor could he contact Nitinkumar and Ashwinkumar as their phones were switched off.
“Dewasi then received another call from a person who introduced himself as Dayashankar Mishra, who said he worked for a finance company. He said he was calling to complete formalities to sanction the loan. He then made Dewasi transfer ₹18.73 lakh for processing the loan. After this, Mishra also was not reachable,” the officer said.
Realising that he had been cheated, Dewasi approached the police on Friday and registered a complaint against the three individuals.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
