Navi Mumbai Fraud: Gang Dupes Indian Bank Of ₹26 Lakh Using Forged Documents; Vashi Police Register FIR

Navi Mumbai: In a case of financial fraud, a gang of four individuals managed to dupe Indian Bank in Vashi to the tune of Rs 26 lakh using forged documents. The accused — Ritesh Chotulal Jain alias Hitesh Solanki, Narendrasinh Premsingh Sonigara, Jitendra Dattabhau Shinde, and Pradeep Gajanan Akanagire — have been booked by Vashi Police under charges of forgery, cheating, and embezzlement. A search operation has been launched to trace the suspects.

According to police, in February, the trio Jain, Sonigara, and Shinde approached Indian Bank claiming to be purchasing a flat from Trilok Developers in Ulwe. They applied for a home loan and allegedly submitted forged documents in support of their application. Based on these, the bank sanctioned a loan of Rs 30 lakh in the name of Jitendra Shinde.

Subsequently, the accused opened a fake bank account at Indian Overseas Bank under the name of Trilok Developers. They allegedly submitted a bogus demand letter to Indian Bank, providing details of the fake account. Acting on the request, Indian Bank transferred Rs 26 lakh to the fraudulent account in March.

"The scam came to light when the real owner of Trilok Developers approached Indian Bank after failing to receive the loan amount. On verification, the bank discovered that the account to which the funds were transferred was not linked to the actual developer. Further investigation revealed that the fake account had been opened by Pradeep Akanagire in Parbhani using forged documents," a police officer from Vashi police station said.

The officials also found that Shinde had also obtained another home loan of Rs 30 lakh from Jana Small Finance Bank using the same set of fake documents for the same property. However, upon cross-verification, officials at Jana Bank halted the loan disbursement, avoiding another major fraud.

Indian Bank officials, after contacting the accused, were initially assured repayment and were handed cheques worth Rs 20 lakh, which eventually bounced. It was also discovered that Jain, the alleged prime accused in the case, had used the alias 'Hitesh Solanki' on several fraudulent documents.

Following these findings, Indian Bank officials lodged a complaint with the Vashi Police, who have now registered an FIR against all four accused and the police have initiated further investigation.