Two booked for duping Mulund bizman of ₹30 lakh in loan fraud

MUMBAI: Two persons attached to a finance company allegedly duped a businessman to the tune of ₹30 lakh on the pretext of helping him secure a loan.

The accused have been identified as Manoj Kumar Sharma and Rajesh Bhola.

According to the police, complainant Pritesh Kumar Shaha, a resident of Mulund West, runs a steel trading firm along with his elder brother. They needed a loan to expand their business in Bhiwandi. Shaha discussed it with a few people associated with a finance company and he was introduced to one Kamat, who then introduced the brothers to one Manoj Kumar Sharma in January 2017.

As per the FIR, Sharma then introduced them to MB Finance Consultant’s business partners Rajesh Bhola and Shabbir Mir.

The complainant alleged that Sharma, Bhola and Mir came to Mumbai from Delhi to complete the requisite processes for the loan. Shaha also paid for their air tickets, accommodation and food expenses. The trio claimed that they had started the loan process in March 2017 and demanded ₹1 crore from the complainant to process his proposal, said a police officer.

In April, 2017, the complainant and Bhola, Mir and their firm entered into a loan agreement, the FIR stated.

Shaha paid ₹30 lakh to the trio but they did not provide any loan to him and stopped answering his calls. After not getting any response, the businessman approached the metropolitan magistrate court and based on the court orders, an FIR was registered on Thursday, Jitendra Zoman, assistant police inspector, Mulund police station, said. The police are investigating Mir’s role.