Delhi: Three arrested for defrauding banks through forged government IDs

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested three men in connection with a loan fraud case, officials said on Thursday.

The accused allegedly posed as senior government officials and used forged documents to secure personal loans, they said.

The investigation began following a complaint lodged by a representative of a finance company alleging cheating and forgery. An FIR was filed on September 2, 2022, at the Crime Branch police station.

"During the investigation, it was found that the accused submitted forged government employee identity cards and fake salary documents while applying for loans," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Harsh Indora. "They falsely claimed to be senior audit officers at the office of the Principal Director of Commercial Audit in the CAG Building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg." The fraud was detected after the accused defaulted on their Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs). Subsequent verification by the finance company revealed that none of the men had ever been employed at the mentioned government office.

A police team tracked the suspects through technical surveillance and field work, conducting raids at more than two dozen locations across different states. The three men were eventually apprehended from their residences in Bihar, Uttrakhand and Delhi.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that they prepared forged documents in the name of various individuals to open bank accounts. They would deposit money into these accounts for several months, disguised as salary credits to generate pre-approved loan offers from banks.

Once the loans were sanctioned, the gang paid the initial EMIs to avoid immediate suspicion before defaulting and distributing the funds among themselves.

According to the officials, all three accused had previous experience in the banking sector. Atul Agarwal, who studied up to Class 10, posed as Manish Kumar to secure a loan. Ajay Chaurasia, who studied up to Class 8, managed the fake bank accounts. Deepak Dhoundiyal, a graduate, also used his banking background to facilitate the crime. PTI BM AKY