The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Bhubaneswar Crime Branch arrested five individuals, including a homeguard and his wife, on Wednesday for allegedly orchestrating a Rs 3.5 crore loan fraud using fraudulent property documents.
The accused have been identified as Niranjan Satpathy, a homeguard, his wife Rinarani Satpathy, and their accomplices Dhananjay Prusty, Nirapada Karmakar, and Surendra Kumar Beura.
EOW investigations revealed that Prusty and Beura initially formed a gold jewellery manufacturing partnership in Cuttack in December 2022. After resigning in September 2023, the partnership was transferred to new owners. In March 2024, the new partners fraudulently secured a Rs 3.5 crore loan from a nationalised bank in Cuttack by pledging another person’s land as collateral. However, the loan amount was misappropriated and not invested in the business.
The scam was uncovered when the real landowner tried to sell his property but found it was already mortgaged against the loan. The owner informed the bank, which filed a complaint with EOW in February 2025.
Further investigation revealed that the accused had submitted forged documents, including Aadhaar and PAN cards, and a fraudster impersonated the landowner during loan scrutiny. The EOW suspects possible involvement of some bank employees in bypassing document verification protocols.
During a search of Niranjan Satpathy’s rented accommodation in Chintamaniswar area, counterfeit Indian currency worth Rs 5,290 was seized, along with land sale deeds, Aadhaar, PAN cards, ATM cards, and passbooks.
The Crime Branch’s Special Task Force (STF) has opened a separate case to trace the source of the counterfeit currency. Authorities anticipate further arrests as the probe continues.
