151 Farmers Cheated Of Rs 113 Crore In Loan Fraud In Maharashtra: Cops

More than 150 farmers have been allegedly cheated of Rs 113 crore in a loan fraud in three tehsils of Nagpur district in Maharashtra, a police official said on Thursday.

The main accused is a rice mill owner from Mauda, who lured 151 farmers with promises of financial help after a wet drought in the region in 2017, the official said.

"He and his associates got bank accounts opened in the name of these 151 farmers from Mauda, Parseoni and Ramtek tehsils after getting them to give their PAN and Aadhaar details," he said.

"Loans ranging from Rs 45 lakh to Rs 50 lakh were obtained in their names from a bank in Kingsway in Sadar and then these were siphoned off into accounts of 12 firms owned by main accused Ramannnarao Bolla," the official added.

The fraud came to light when several of these farmers, who had no idea about these loans, recently got recovery notices from the bank, after which they confronted the main accused, he said.

"While Bolla promised to return the money, he did not keep his promise after which they approached police. Six of these farmers did not even own agricultural land," he said.

A case of cheating and other offences under the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act has been registered against Bolla and 17 others, including personnel from the bank and the 12 firms owned by the main accused.

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