The Guntur police uncovered a massive fake loan scam involving the Guntur District Co-operative Central Bank (GDCC) and arrested 11 individuals on Friday. The fraudulent scheme led to the approval of over 54 loans worth Rs5 crore.
The scam came to light when U Lingeswar Rao, a resident of Veeraiahpalem village, Prakasam district, discovered that a Rs6 lakh loan had been taken in his name at the Chinakondrupadu Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society. Rao filed a complaint with the Prathipadu police on October 18, 2024. Upon investigation, authorities traced the fraud back to a network of criminals from Palnadu district, which had expanded its operations across various regions.
The police investigation revealed that over 30 individuals, including GDCC Bank staff, had been involved in creating fake farmer identities to obtain loans. Among the 11 arrested were S Nagaraju, J Prabhakar, T Yogaiah, M Seetharamanjaneyulu, S Venkateswarulu, T Venkata Sandeep Kumar, N Srinivasa Rao, M Nageswar Rao, B Lakshmi Narayana, A Tirupathi Reddy, and G Levi, a retired Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO).
The accused used forged documents such as passbooks, Aadhaar cards, and bank papers to facilitate the loans. Investigations also revealed that two former Mandal Revenue Officers (MROs), three Village Revenue Officers (VROs), and an ex-bank manager were involved in the scam.
The police are continuing their probe into the matter, and more arrests are anticipated as the investigation unfolds.
