Mumbai: Four pose as BMC staff, defraud bank of Rs 63 lakh

Nayak said they received the loan applications through online banking from four individuals identified as Prafullata Chavan and Naresh Ramsingh, both residents of Thane; Atul Tiwari, a resident of Virar; and Krishna Tiwari, a resident of Santacruz, who all claimed to be BMC employees and also shared forged documents with the bank to secure the loan amount. 

According to the police, the incident occurred between May 2023 and September 2023. A police officer said, “The ICICI Bank officer contacted all four of them and asked them to submit the required documents to process the loan amount. All four accused submitted their Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and BMC employee ID cards, along with three months’ salary slips and BMC salary account details.”

The first accused in the case, Chavan, applied for a loan of Rs 25 lakh; the second accused, Ramsingh, applied for Rs 11 lakh; the third accused, Tiwari, applied for Rs 5 lakh; and Krishna applied for a Rs 15 lakh loan. Amidst the process, the officers from ICICI Bank visited the residences of all four accused and verified their addresses, said police. “The bank also verified the submitted documents and sanctioned a total loan of around Rs 63 lakh. The accused initially paid a few EMIs but later stopped making payments,” said the officer. 

He added, “After nearly two years of non-payment, the bank officers revisited the given residential addresses but could not find any of the accused. When they enquired with the BMC, they found that no individuals with these names were listed among the staff. Upon realising the bank’s deception, the officers promptly filed a First Information Report (FIR). The Andheri MIDC police said they have registered a case against all four accused for defrauding the bank, and an investigation into the matter has been launched.