In a major breakthrough, the Special Task Force (STF) in Lucknow arrested four members of a gang involved in defrauding banks and housing loan companies of approximately Rs 5 crore. The arrests were made near Piccup Bhawan crossing under the jurisdiction of the Vibhutikhand police station on Wednesday.
The accused have been identified as Mohammed Arif of Varavan Kala, Mohammed Washil of Aminabad, Shiv Pratap Singh of Sitapur, and Arpit Srivastava of Alamnagar. A search of the suspects led to the recovery of several items, including 13 mobile phones, four forged Aadhaar cards, one forged PAN card, and ATM cards from 15 different banks. Additionally, passbooks, cheque books, and vehicles were seized as part of the operation.
According to Inspector Anjani Pandey from STF, the gang had been under surveillance for several days due to information about their fraudulent activities. On Tuesday night, a tip-off alerted the STF that gang members were spotted near Piccup Bhawan, prompting immediate action and their subsequent arrest.
During questioning, the accused revealed their modus operandi, which involved opening fake bank accounts using forged PAN and Aadhaar cards. The gang created fake profiles to secure loans from banks and private financial institutions. They also used fake property documents to convince surveyors and bank employees to sanction loans. To avoid suspicion, they made installment payments on these loans to maintain the appearance of legitimacy. The gang had fraudulently obtained over 30 home loans.
The investigation is ongoing, and the STF is working to identify additional members of the gang and recover more stolen assets.
