Six held in Gr Noida for duping people under fake loan scheme

Greater Noida police arrested six people for duping victims with fake loans under the PMEGP scheme, charging hefty fees for registration and processing.

Greater Noida: Six people were arrested by Greater Noida police on Thursday for allegedly duping people on the pretext of providing loans under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), officials said.

Explaining their modus operandi, the officer said that the suspects used to charge people ₹3,000 as a registration fee (for loans), and ₹18,000 as an insurance processing fee, the officer said. (Representational image)

The PMEGP is a government scheme that helps people start small businesses and self-employment projects. Under this scheme, financial support is provided in the form of subsidies and bank loans to people who want to start new businesses in the manufacturing, service, or trade sectors.

Police conducted a raid following a tip-off about a gang involved in duping people under the PMEGP scheme and operating in a Greater Noida’s Sector 1 high-rise. “A police team raided the spot on Thursday around 11.30 pm and arrested the six suspects, aged between 21 and 38, all natives of Karnataka,” Shailendra Singh, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Central Noida told HT.

Investigation revealed that the suspects used advertisements on social media platforms to lure people with fake subsidised loans under PMEGP, he said.

Explaining their modus operandi, the officer said that the suspects used to charge people ₹3,000 as a registration fee (for loans), and ₹18,000 as an insurance processing fee, the officer said.

“They were operating in Greater Noida for the past six months, and the investigation is underway to ascertain how many people had fallen into their trap,” the DCP added.

Police said that after the fraud, the suspects used to change their phone numbers to avoid anyone contacting them for a follow-up.

Police confiscated 24 mobile phones and 15 registers containing data from their possession, and booked the suspects on charges of cheating, cheating by personation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and violations of the IT Act at Bisrakh police station, said officials, adding that further investigation is underway.