Malad bizman duped of ₹11.5 lakh, two booked

The complainant, Shatilal Jain (75), told the police that his loan account had been declared a non-performing asset (NPA) around 2015 following which the bank took control of one of his properties which is worth ₹40 crores.

Mumbai: Two people were booked for allegedly duping a Malad-based businessman of ₹11.5 lakh under the pretext of helping him to get a loan.

The duo have been booked under sections 420 (fraud), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will or authority), 468 (forgery with the intention of cheating) and 471 (passing on a forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code. Further investigation in the case is underway, he said. (Image for representation)

The complainant, Shatilal Jain (75), told the police that his loan account had been declared a non-performing asset (NPA) around 2015 following which the bank took control of one of his properties which is worth ₹40 crores. He was applying for loans from various banks to raise funds to regain control of the said property.

“In 2019, the manager of one of these banks introduced Jain to Hemal Shah and Nandkishor Bagad saying that they could help me get the loans. The duo said they would charge a commission of 6%, and asked for an advance of ₹8 lakh,” states the complaint. It adds that a few days after paying the commission, Shah told him that one of the banks they approached on his behalf had approved the ₹40 crore loan.

The sanction letter was sent to the complainant on WhatsApp. It said that the loan would be provided to the applicant at an interest rate of 11%. “However, when Jain asked for the original sanction letter, Shah asked him to pay an additional ₹2 lakh to get it. After the payment, the accused said that the loan amount will be credited in the next eight days,” states the complaint.

Ten days later, Shah asked for another ₹1.5 lakh to move the loan disbursement process further. Even after this, the promised amount was never credited to the complainant’s account. He kept following up with Shah and Bagad for several weeks, however, the duo kept making excuses about the delay.

Jain then went to the branch of the bank mentioned in the sanction letter. The bank officials told him they didn’t know the two accused and had received no loan application on his behalf. They also told him that the sanction letter was fake. On learning that he had been defrauded, the complainant approached the Malad police.

The duo have been booked under sections 420 (fraud), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will or authority), 468 (forgery with the intention of cheating) and 471 (passing on a forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code. Further investigation in the case is underway, he said.