SITABULDI police have registered a case of bank fraud after a loan of Rs 5.65 crore was obtained from Standard Chartered Bank using forged documents and signatures in the name of a man who had died a year earlier. Police have booked Devendra Punekar,Nitin Punekar, MahendraPunekar and Dharmendra Punekar, all residents of Koshtipura, Sitabuldi, and Nitin Kadu, a resident of Thavkarwadi, Bhandara Road, Pardi. The complaint was lodged by Mohan Madhav Kshirsagar (30), a Mumbai resident and Manager (Legal) with Standard Chartered Bank.

 

The bank has a branch at Bhaskar Complex in Civil Lines, near MLA Hostel. Kadu works there as a sales employee. According to the complaint, the accused allegedly prepared forged documents and submitted two loan proposals on April 30, 2022. The proposals included Rs 1.65 crore in the name of India Petrochemical and Rs 4 crore in the name of Narendra Oil Agency. A forged verification report was also submitted. The loan was sanctioned on May 13, 2022. The bank later found that the loan instalments were not being paid. During verification, officials discovered that Narendra Punekar, in whose name loan had been obtained, had died in 2021. The bank examined the loan documents and found them to be forged. Sitabuldi police have registered a case under relevant sections for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. Further investigation is underway.