EOW arrests two in ₹25L fake loan scam

Lucknow: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of UP has arrested two absconding accused in connection with a ₹25-lakh fraudulent loan case involving forged property documents and impersonation, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Arvind Singh and Mohammad Salim, were arrested on June 9 from separate locations in Lucknow after evading arrest for a prolonged period despite multiple raids.

According to EOW officials, the duo allegedly conspired to obtain a cash credit (CC) limit loan of ₹25 lakh from Allahabad Bank’s Kaiserbagh branch by using forged documents of a residential property in Vrindavan Yojana on Rae Bareli Road. The property belongs to Manju Devi, whose original sale deed was reported missing in 2018. Taking advantage of this, the accused allegedly used the documents without her knowledge or consent to secure the loan.

Officials said the accused later defaulted on repayment and allegedly siphoned off the funds, causing financial loss to the bank and the property owner. An FIR in the case was initially registered at Bachhrawan police station in Rae Bareli in 2020 under IPC sections related to cheating, forgery and impersonation. The probe was later handed over to the EOW on the directions of the Allahabad High Court.

During investigation, EOW found evidence of a criminal conspiracy, following which Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) was also invoked. Officials said both accused had been on the run, frequently changing locations to avoid arrest. Acting on specific intelligence inputs, EOW teams tracked them down and conducted coordinated raids.

Arvind Singh, a resident of Rajajipuram, was arrested from the Alambagh area, while Mohammad Salim, also from Rajajipuram, was arrested from Thakurganj.