Nagpur: In a massive banking fraud that exposed the vulnerability of poor farmers to organised financial criminals, the Nagpur Rural Police have arrested three more members of an alleged inter-State racket accused of defrauding the State Bank of India (SBI) of a staggering Rs 73.82 crore by fraudulently securing agricultural loans in the names of unsuspecting farmers.
The gang allegedly turned the identities, land records and banking credentials of poor, illiterate and semi-literate farmers into instruments of a massive loan fraud. By dangling the promise of Government compensation for crop losses, the accused allegedly collected farmers’ Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and land ownership documents, only to misuse them to obtain loans worth several lakhs of rupees without their knowledge or consent.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) intensified its investigation and arrested Dr Madan Gopal Mallikarjun Patil (26) from Bengaluru. Two other accused, Priyaranjan Ashok Kumar Chaudhary (42), alias Gaurav Mishra and Gaurav Jaiswal, and Rahul alias Sandeep Satish Dubey (37), were apprehended from Nakshatra Nagar in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on November 3.
Chaudhary, a resident of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, was reportedly staying in Hubballi, Karnataka, while Dubey hails from Jabalpur. The arrests have exposed the interstate dimensions of the alleged racket, with the accused operating across different States to execute the financial fraud.
Rs 73.82 crore siphoned through two SBI branches
According to the police investigation, the accused allegedly secured Rs 54,69,42,850 in fraudulent agricultural loans from SBI’s Mauda branch and another Rs 19,13,50,000 from its Ramtek branch. The combined amount comes to Rs 73,82,92,850.
The investigation has revealed that the accused allegedly floated fictitious companies and routed the loan proceeds into their accounts, creating an elaborate financial structure to divert the money obtained through forged documents.
The gang reportedly exploited the Produce Marketing Loan Scheme by arranging fraudulent licences from the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA), Delhi. Using these allegedly bogus licences and forged electronic warehouse receipts, the accused managed to secure substantial loans from the bank.
Investigators are now examining the fake companies, banking transactions and documentation used to facilitate the loans, besides tracing the ultimate beneficiaries of the money.
How poor farmers were trapped in the Rs 73-crore racket
The modus operandi reveals a calculated exploitation of financially vulnerable farmers in Saoner and Ramtek tehsils.
The accused allegedly approached poor and largely illiterate farmers with an attractive promise of Rs 10,000 in annual Government compensation for crop losses. They convinced the farmers that opening or providing details of a bank account was necessary to receive the proposed Government assistance.
Trusting the assurances, the farmers handed over their Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and crucial agricultural land records, including 7/12 extracts.
The accused allegedly went a step further by taking the unsuspecting farmers to banks and obtaining their signatures on documents written in English. Since many of the farmers could neither read nor understand the contents of these documents, they reportedly had no idea that their signatures were being used to facilitate large agricultural loans.
The documents collected under the pretext of Government compensation were allegedly converted into instruments of financial fraud. Loans worth lakhs of rupees were sanctioned in the farmers’ names without their knowledge, while the proceeds were diverted into accounts of fictitious companies floated by the gang.
The accused allegedly strengthened the fraud by creating a parallel network of fake companies, fraudulent warehouse licences and fabricated electronic warehouse receipts to exploit the Produce Marketing Loan Scheme.
18 persons named; investigation widened
The EOW had earlier arrested Sachin Karemore in connection with the case. With the latest arrests, investigators have intensified efforts to unravel the entire network. A total of 18 persons have been named in the cases registered at Mauda and Ramtek police stations.
The investigation is being conducted under the guidance of Superintendent of Police (Nagpur Rural) Dr Harssh Poddar and Additional Superintendent of Police Anil Mhaske.
Police officials have also learnt that Chaudhary is allegedly facing similar fraud cases in Karnataka, indicating the possibility of a wider pattern of financial offences extending beyond Maharashtra.
The EOW is now working to identify the remaining accused, establish the complete money trail, ascertain the role of the fictitious companies and determine how the fraudulent warehouse licences and electronic receipts were obtained and authenticated.
The case raises serious questions about verification procedures in agricultural lending and the vulnerability of rural banking systems to organised document forgery. More importantly, it exposes how farmers, who were allegedly promised a modest Government benefit of Rs 10,000, were instead used as unsuspecting fronts in a financial operation involving more than Rs 73 crore.
