Police arrest two in Rs 36 crore fraud and forgery case targeting farmers in Haridwar
PNS | DEHRADUN
Police apprehended two men linked to a massive fraud and forgery scheme targeting farmers in Haridwar, in which loans amounting to approximately Rs 36.5 crore were deceitfully secured from Punjab National Bank (PNB) using forged documents between 2008 and 2020. The accused Pawan Dhingra and Umesh Sharma reportedly exploited the names of local farmers, many of whom had no knowledge of the loans taken out in their names, by submitting fake documents to acquire crop loans, the Haridwar senior superintendent of police Pramendra Dobhal said. He informed that this fraudulent operation reportedly took place between 2008 and 2020, with the bank’s Iqbalpur branch serving as the base for the scheme. He informed that the fraud came to light when PNB issued default notices for non-payment of installments to the farmers and workers listed as loan holders. Shocked to receive such notices, the victims, who were primarily engaged in simple agricultural and labour work, reached out to the authorities. Their inquiries triggered an investigation, uncovering a complex scheme of forgery that left the local farming community reeling. The SSP said that an FIR was registered on April 19, 2021, at the Jhabreda police station. Initially, the case was registered under sections 420 and 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but additional charges were filed under sections 467, 468 and 471 as the investigation revealed more details. Dobhal said that considering the complexity of the case, the investigation was subsequently transferred from local authorities to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) in Dehradun. As part of the investigation, notices were issued to five suspects involved in the scam. On November 2, 2024, the police arrested Sharma and Dhingra who held managerial roles in sugar mills in the region. They were taken into custody by the police and will be presented in court for further legal proceedings. The search for three other suspects, including a former bank manager implicated in the case, is ongoing, the SSP said.
