27 January,2024 05:25 PM IST | Mumbai | Asif Rizvi
Representational Pic/File
Mumbai Police on Saturday said that it has busted a gang that had been luring people online with low interest rate loans under the 'Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana' and the Andheri Police has nabbed as many as 10 people in connection with the matter.
According to the police, A 44-year-old woman had on January 1 filed a complaint with the Andheri Police in western suburbs of Mumbai regarding the alleged fraud and told the police that she had come across an ad online along with a contact number by an unknown person on a social media platform.
"The complainant told the police that she was in need of a loan and she contacted on the number mentioned in the ad. When she contacted, a suspect offered her a loan of upto Rs 5 at a very low interest rate and told her he could help her with the amount under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana," an official said.
The police said that the woman told the officials that the suspect had promised her a loan at an interest rate of only 2 per cent under the government scheme. The suspect also asked her to submit her documents including Aadhar Card, Pan Card and Banking Credentials through WhatsApp for loan processing.
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"After she sent the details to the suspect, he sent her fake loan documents and the a loan agreement. He demanded a fees for the same and the complainant transferred an amount of Rs 44, 240 but she never got a loan after which she approached the police," the official said.
An FIR under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act was registered by the police on her complaint, he said.
The police said, a special team was formed to investigate the matter and while analyzing the technial details of the online fraud, the officials came across a suspect who lived road side. His questioning led to an address of a society in Panvel area of Raigad.
"The officials began to investigate the location and found that a fake call centre was being operated from a flat in the society," the official said.
A team of police officials on January 24 raided the place and initially detained 10 people working in the call centre. The officials also seized 38 mobile phones, 61 debit cards, 20 chequebooks, 37 passbooks, and 48 sim cards from the alleged fraudsters. They also seized cash and valuables worth Rs 58 lakh, the police said.
Those detained were later arrested by the police. They have been identified as Sunil Chavan, 27, Bhimshankar Rathod, 24, Sujit Pasi, 28, Chandrashekhar Rathod, 28, Vilas Rathod, 25, Ravi Pawar, 34, Santosh Chavan, 36, Suresh Rathod, 28, Vikas Chavan, 27 and Jaichandra Chavan, 40. Some of the suspects are from Karnataka among those arrested, the police said.
"The police has so far seized cash and other properties worth Rs 58.16 lakh belonging to the accused. The officials has also found that as many as 45 previous cases has been registered so far in different police stations of the country. Further investigations are being done in the matter," the official added.
