Five arrested for running loan fraud syndicate in Kolkata

Kolkata, Jan 10 (IANS) Kolkata Police have arrested five persons from different states for allegedly running a fraudulent scheme under the guise of facilitating loans through the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, officials said on Saturday.

According to police, the arrests were made following a raid conducted by officers from the Purba Jadavpur police station on Friday night. The accused were arrested from a residential building in Nitai Nagar on the outskirts of Kolkata. The Police are investigating who others are involved in this syndicate.

According to police, the arrested individuals have been identified as Amit Khan, Rathin Siddi, Mohammad Nazimuddin Siddiqui, Vishal Shinde, and Madhusudan HR. Rathin, Nazimuddin, Vishal, and Madhusudan are residents of Karnataka, while Amit is a resident of Bihar. All of them were residing in the Purba Jadavpur police station area.

Eight smartphones and six keypad phones were seized from the arrested individuals, police said. The accused will be produced in the court on Saturday. The police will seek their custody for further investigation.

It is learned that the accused defrauded small business owners by promising to secure loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

A formal complaint was filed against a loan fraud ring at the Purba Jadavpur police station on January 7. The police had arrested several individuals during the initial stage of the investigation. Based on their interrogation and findings, investigators located the remaining suspects.

An operation was then launched, and five persons were arrested from a room on the third floor of a building in the Nitai Nagar area.

The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act and the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). Investigators aim to uncover the full scope of the fraud and identify others involved once custody is granted.

--IANS