Man held for defrauding people by promising them loans at low interest rates

The Malad Police in Mumbai arrested an accused who defrauded people out of lakhs of rupees by promising them loans from various banks at low rates in exchange for processing fees the police said on TuesdayThe arrested accused has been identified as 32yearold Chandrakant Gaikwad the police saidAccording to the police Gaikwad had been on the run frequently changing his location and mobile number to evade arrest However the police kept a constant watch on him and after tracing his movements apprehended him last week on Malad Link RoadUpon his arrest and a subsequent house search the police recovered 46 passbooks from various banks more than 83 checkbooks 78 ATM cards 19 PAN cards 21 Aadhaar cards 13 mobile phones and 5 rubber stamps from the Bank of India an official saidAccording to police sources the investigation began after a woman who runs a stationery shop filed a complaint She had approached the accused through an acquaintance seeking a loan Gaikwad promised her a loan of Rs 42 crores and took approximately Rs 27 lakhs from her between July and August 2023 as a processing fee He sent her a fake demand draft via WhatsApp and then absconded after switching off his phone Following this the woman approached the Malad police station and complainedUnder the guidance of DCP Anand Bhoite Senior Inspector Ravindra Adhane Police Inspector Rajendra Panhale and API Sachin Kapse led the investigation They tracked down the accused and arrested him on July 27 from Link Road in MaladThe police seized three mobile phones during the arrest and additional items were recovered during the house searchGaikwad was presented in court where he was remanded to police custody until September 5 an officer from the Malad police station saidDuring the investigation it was revealed that the accused has a criminal record having previously similarly defrauded people at Kandivali Dindoshi NM Joshi Marg and Vikhroli police stations Several more victims from Pune and other parts of Maharashtra have also come forward claiming they were defrauded by Gaikwad in the same way the officer addedGiven the modus operandi and the seized checkbooks passbooks and ATM cards it appears that Gaikwad is a habitual offender who has defrauded people in a wellplanned manner The police are now sending letters to the banks involved and have requested KYC details for all the accounts