Punjab man arrested for Rs 1.6 crore Aadhaar-PAN loan fraud affecting 50 victims
Delhi Police have arrested a 24-year-old man from Punjab for his role in a cyber fraud racket that secured loans worth around Rs 1.6 crore
Delhi Police have arrested a 24-year-old man from Punjab for his role in a cyber fraud racket that secured loans worth around Rs 1.6 crore by misusing the Aadhaar and PAN details of nearly 50 people, an officer said on Saturday. The accused, identified as Ajay Kumar, was arrested on Friday. Police recovered a mobile phone believed to have been used in the fraud. Read Full Story The case came to light after a Delhi resident complained that he was receiving calls from a loan recovery agent over EMIs for a personal loan of Rs 4.5 lakh that he had never taken.
During the probe, police found that the loan had been fraudulently obtained in the complainant's name using his PAN details. Investigators also discovered that the mobile number linked to his Aadhaar had been changed without his knowledge, enabling the fraud. Police traced the loan amount to a bank account operated by Ajay Kumar. A senior police officer said, "Technical surveillance and human intelligence led to his arrest. Analysis of his mobile phone revealed exchanges of the complainant's personal details with his associates before the fraud." During interrogation, Kumar told investigators that he was part of a network that routed fraudulently obtained loan amounts through bank accounts of individuals who allowed their accounts to be used in exchange for a commission.
According to police, the syndicate first changed victims' Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers and then used their Aadhaar and PAN details to obtain loans from private finance companies. So far, investigators have identified around 50 victims whose documents were misused to secure loans worth nearly Rs 1.6 crore from private non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Police said efforts are underway to trace other members of the racket, identify additional mule accounts and determine the full scale of the fraud. The investigation, which began with a complaint about an unauthorised loan, has since uncovered a wider identity theft and loan fraud network involving manipulated Aadhaar records, stolen personal data and multiple bank accounts used to siphon off the funds.
Ends
The BriefWire