Raipur
Farasgaon and Keshkal police have busted an inter-district fraud syndicate accused of cheating 43 government schoolteachers of nearly ₹12 crore through a multi-bank personal loan scam. Police arrested five key members of the racket from Ambikapur, Jashpur, and Sarangarh after a three-month investigation.
The accused allegedly ran an elaborate fraud by luring teachers into obtaining multiple personal loans from different banks simultaneously. The operation was supervised by Kondagaon Superintendent of Police Pankaj Chandra and Additional Superintendent of Police Kapil Chandra.
Special investigation teams led by Farasgaon SDOP Abhinav Upadhyay, Keshkal SDOP Arun Netam, Farasgaon SHO Inspector Chandrashekhar Shrivas, and Keshkal SHO Inspector Vikas Baghel tracked the suspects using bank transaction analysis and mobile location data.
The scam came to light after several teachers lodged complaints. Sanjay Kodopi of Jugani Kalar alleged that the accused cheated him and four colleagues of nearly ₹2 crore. Another complainant, Anant Kumar Nirmalkar of Badendongar, reported a fraud of around ₹4 crore involving seven teachers.
In Keshkal, Devendra Kishore Khawas complained of a ₹6.42 crore fraud affecting 21 teachers, while Yogeshwar Baidh alleged a ₹1.57 crore fraud involving seven other teachers.
Police registered four separate cases under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including offences related to cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
Investigators said the accused lured government schoolteachers with a so-called “40-60 multi-bank loan scheme.” Teachers were persuaded to apply for personal loans from multiple banks at the same time.
The accused allegedly used the teachers’ salary slips, PAN cards, and Aadhaar cards to secure loans, reportedly in collusion with certain bank employees and loan agents. Police said the suspects also prepared forged documents, including those with fake residential addresses, to bypass banking verification.
Under the fraudulent arrangement, teachers received only 40% of the sanctioned loan amount, while the remaining 60% was transferred to accounts controlled by the accused. The gang allegedly assured victims that it would repay the loans through monthly EMIs within two to three years.
The fraud was exposed after the accused stopped paying the EMIs, leaving the teachers burdened with the outstanding loan liabilities.
Police arrested Dilip Kumar Sony and Anshuman Singh from Ambikapur, Shyamsunder Jangde from Sarangarh, and Virendra Tirkey from Jashpur. The alleged kingpin, Shivshankar Das, who was already lodged in Ambikapur jail in connection with another case, was taken into custody on a production warrant.
During the operation, police seized mobile phones, bank passbooks, cheque books, ATM cards, laptops, desktop computers, and ledgers containing records of the fraudulent financial transactions.
