Rs 40 lakh loan sanctioned against forged property documents, FIR filed

Indore: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Saturday unearthed a banking fraud in which Rs 40 lakh loan was sanctioned against forged property documents.The agency registered an FIR against bank officials and a private marketing firm proprietor, under charges of cheating, forgery, and corruption.The action followed after a complaint was filed by Canara Bank Indore regional office's deputy general manager Anand Shivanand Totad.During investigation, it was found that one Chandrashekhar Pachori, operating under the firm M/s Jai Shiv & Company, had applied for Rs 40 lakh term loan on April 12, 2018, citing the purchase of machinery. To secure the loan, Rammohan Agarwal was presented as a co-obligant (guarantor), and his property—Plot No 277 in Usha Nagar Extension—was offered as collateral.The legal and valuation reports submitted to Canara Bank's Nanda Nagar branch claimed that the plot was ‘undisputed' and suitable for a loan. Based on these reports and recommendation of bank staff, the loan was sanctioned on May 8, 2018, an official press release read.The EOW's forensic investigation, however, revealed that long before the loan was sought, a multi-storey building consisting of flats and shops had already been constructed on the said plot. The property was sold to third parties as early as 2009-10. At the time of the loan application in 2018, the co-obligant (Agarwal) was no longer the legal owner of the property.Despite these glaring facts, the bank's internal verification and due diligence processes failed completely, suggesting intentional negligence or collusion. The fraud remained hidden until the loan account turned into a non-performing asset on May 1, 2023, after the accused stopped paying instalments. Subsequent internal audits by the bank unmasked the forgery.The EOW registered cases under IPC Sections 420 (Cheating), 467 (Forgery of valuable security), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using forged document as genuine), 120-B (Criminal conspiracy), and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2018.The accused named in the FIR include Chandrashekhar Pachori (main borrower), Rammohan Agarwal (co-obligant), Jatin Gupta (the then branch manager), Kamlesh Diwani (then credit manager), and proprietor of a private marketing firm.