In a major crackdown on financial fraud, Kapu police arrested a couple for forging land documents and cheating multiple financial institutions of Rs1.02 crore.
The accused, Riyanath Banu (25) of Mallaru Kombagudde and her husband Nouman Ismail (33) of Bhaskar Nagar, Uchila Bada, were taken into custody from Kottakkal, Malappuram in Kerala on August 12 after a month-long undercover surveillance operation.
Between February and March 2024, the duo obtained a Rs45 lakh loan from Katapadi Co-operative Agricultural Society using fake property documents and forged identities of two guarantors, Dinesh and Rajesh. They paid only three installments before defaulting.
Upon verification, the society discovered that the sale deeds, agreement papers, sub-registrar’s signatures and seals, loan bonds, and revenue stamps submitted were all forged. A complaint was lodged by the society’s branch manager Modin D. Khan on January 3, which led to a widespread investigation.
During interrogation, the couple confessed to the following fraudulent activities:
Rs45 lakh loan from Katapadi Society using fake land records
Rs18 lakh car loan from Bank of Baroda (Kapu); car sold with fake papers
Rs15 lakh loan from Canara Bank (Arasikere branch) using forged docs
Rs3.75 lakh advance collected in Udupi for fake house lease
Rs8 lakh loan from Nutan Credit Co-op Society by pledging a car
Rs13 lakh loan from Udupi Industrial Co-op Society for a Jeep Compass, later sold with false papers
In total, the couple defrauded institutions of over Rs1.02 crore.
They were produced before court and have been remanded to 14 days judicial custody. Police are now investigating the wider fraud network possibly linked to their operations.
The successful operation was led by SP Hariram Shankar, ASP Dr. Harsham Priyavada, CPI Jayashree Mane, SI Tejaswi T.I., and the Kapu crime division staff including Rafiq, Raghu, and Mohan.
