Six jailed for submitting fictitious documentation to mortgage a single home to 22 banks in Bengaluru

Six people, five of whom are family members, have been taken into custody by the Jayanagar police on suspicion of forging paperwork on a single Begur property and mortgaging it to seek a Rs. 10 crore loan from 22 banks.

Nagesh Bhardwaj, his wife Suma, her brother Satish, her sister Shobha and her husband Shekhar Giri, and Suma’s friend Vedha have all been named as the suspects. All six of the family’s members live in Begur, and they are from Mysuru.

According to the police, in December 2022, the manager of a cooperative bank in Jayanagar 3rd Block submitted a complaint alleging that a couple had taken out a loan of Rs 1.30 crore by mortgaging a 2,100-square-foot house and had neglected to make the required monthly payments. The pair was caught by the authorities during the inquiry, and it was discovered that they had used the same scheme to defraud many institutions.

The pair fabricated paperwork for their Begur property, including incorrect measurements, survey and site numbers, and survey numbers. Along with the other accused parties, they completed the sale deeds and had them registered at the sub-registrar’s office. These papers served as cover for their loan applications, which they used to con banks. According to investigations, the suspects obtained loans totaling Rs 10 crore by defrauding 22 institutions, including nationalised banks. They have sometimes even taken out loans for machinery, according to the police.

The bank officials’ possible participation in the crime is also suspected by the authorities. Four banks have lodged complaints against the accused, the police said, adding that “we are collecting details from the banks as there is a possibility that bank officials could have sanctioned the loans by taking commission from the accused.”