Man dupes Mudra loan seekers, held

A 34-year-old unemployed graduate has been arrested for conning nearly 70 people out of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of helping them get loans under the prime minister’s Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) scheme.

A senior police officer said the suspect, Punith, a resident of Srirampura, used to tell people that he knew bank officials and promised them to get loans under the Mudra scheme.

Through this method, he cheated nearly 70 people.

He was arrested following a complaint by Nandish, a businessman from Malleswaram.

The officer said Punith assured to help Nandish to get Rs 4 lakh loan and took Rs 70,000 as a commission from him.

He also took Rs 3.8 lakh from Santosh, another businessman, to help him get a loan of Rs 50 lakh.

He also cheated many cab drivers promising them to get loans to start their own business under the self-employment scheme.

Punith even issued receipts for the money he received from victims.

However, as the days passed, the victims did not get any loan.

They then approached bank officials with the receipts issued by Punith. The bank officials told them that they had not received any application regarding a loan and told them that they had been duped.

Following a complaint, the Malleswaram police arrested the suspect and booked him for cheating, forgery and impersonation.

He was produced before the magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody.