In a significant crackdown on financial fraud, the City Crime Branch has arrested a gang of seven individuals for allegedly defrauding multiple financial institutions by using forged documents to secure vehicle loans, with the total fraud amounting to Rs3.32 crore.
The key accused, Ravindra Dinanath Girkar, also known as Pardeep Ravinder Sharma (47), was arrested on Thursday in Byculla, based on intelligence gathered from undercover sources. Along with Girkar, the police apprehended four more accomplices, including Manish Subhash Sharma (39), Syed Naveed Syed Zulfiqar Ali (52), Danish Khan, Sainath Ganzi, and Khimsagi Bist. These individuals were arrested from various locations, including Ahmedabad and Indore (MP).
The gang allegedly used forged documents, including fake PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, and property allotment letters, to secure vehicle loans. The scam was uncovered when Sharma took out a Rs16.03 lakh loan from Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Pvt Ltd for a Mahindra Thar but defaulted on the monthly payments. Investigations revealed that the gang had used similar tactics to acquire loans for at least 10 vehicles, accumulating an outstanding amount of Rs2.19 crore.
Further investigation into the accused’s PAN card records exposed a larger-scale fraud, involving business loans, personal loans, credit cards, and housing loans, totaling Rs3.32 crore. Officials also suspect that the accused manipulated vehicle serial numbers, chassis numbers, and engine numbers to resell the fraudulently obtained vehicles in different states using forged documents.
The case, initially registered at Pantnagar Police Station in March 2023, was later transferred to the Crime Branch as the scope of the fraud expanded. Authorities are now tracing additional vehicles acquired through fraudulent means and identifying other potential accomplices.
The accused have been charged under sections 467 (forgery of valuable security), 34 (common intention), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Authorities have sought police custody to conduct a thorough investigation into the fraud’s extent and recover the stolen vehicles.
