Gang raising fraudulent vehicle loans busted

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 25

The police have busted a gang that allegedly duped banks and finance companies by raising fraudulent two-wheeler loans on the basis of migrants’ Aadhaar cards carrying fake addresses in Mohali and then selling these in Haryana.

The police said they had recovered 18 two-wheelers and arrested one of the members of the gang, identified as Pankaj. Members of the gang made migrants hand over their Aadhaar cards to them, got addresses on these changed to Mohali and raised two-wheeler loans on their names.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vikramjeet Duggal said the gang members raised vehicle loans on the basis of migrant labourers’ Aadhaar cards with fake addresses and sold these through their members at Shahbad in Haryana. In this way, they escaped action by banks and finance companies as the latter failed to trace the loanees as well as the vehicles. He said the police recovered 18 two-wheelers from areas in Haryana which were sold by members of the gang. The police arrested Pankaj while he was driving a Swift car in Patiala. He was carrying a pistol. The SSP said they had secured police remand of the accused till December 30. Members of the gang, identified as Rakesh Kumar of Rajpura, Bimal Kalra of Patiala and Asees of UP, have also been booked. Duggal said the police were collecting more information from the banks and finance companies duped by the gang.

A case has been registered under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 469 (forgery intending that the document or electronic record forged shall harm the reputation of any party) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.