Nagpur: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW ) of Nagpur Rural Police has written to the District Collectorate of various districts to identify the land properties amassed by the mastermind Ramannarao Musalia Bolla, a prime accused in the Rs 113 crore loan scam case.
According to police sources, properties of over 100 acres of agricultural land across six locations, all registered in the name of Bolla’s relatives, have been identified so far. The police suspect more properties in the name of Bolla purchased in various districts of Vidarbha and Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, the cops have started recording statements of farmers who have been duped by the fraudsters.
In a new development, officials of Karur Vysya Bank and IDBI Bank have also approached the EOW, stating similar loan fraud committed by the gang of fraudsters. On Tuesday, a large number of farmers gathered at the EOW office at Police Bhavan in Nagpur, aggrieved by the case.
It may be mentioned here that more than 18 accused have been booked on conspiracy and cheating charges by the police in this case. The gang exploited the financial distress caused by a wet drought in 2017. Bolla and his accomplices lured the farmers in the garb of providing Government aid. They took the farmers to the Corporation Bank branch on Kingsway in Sadar, where their Aadhaar and PAN card details were collected, and bank accounts were opened in their names.
Once these accounts were established, the accused colluded with bank officials and issued bogus loans ranging from Rs 45 lakh to Rs 50 lakh in the name of each farmer. Signatures of the farmers were obtained, and cheques were taken to divert the loan amount to various bank accounts related to 12 companies owned by Bolla.
This fraud came to light recently when the farmers received notices for loan recovery from the bank. The farmers confronted Bolla, who promised to return the money along with interest after a few days. However, Bolla failed to deliver on his promises, leaving the victims in distress.
The fraudster, Ramannarao Bolla duped around 151 farmers of Rs 113 crore by pledging their grains in exchange of loans he took in their name. Bolla siphoned off the money by diverting it to 24 bank accounts. The defrauded farmers are from Mouda, Parsheoni and Ramtek. Mouda police have registered a case of conspiracy and cheating against 18 people.
