Nagpur: In a massive loan fraud, 151 farmers from Mauda, Parseoni and Ramtek Tehsils in Nagpur district have been duped of a whopping Rs 113 crore by the scamsters. The scam involved obtaining loans under the pretext of mortgaging grains, with more than 18 accused having been booked by the police for conspiracy and cheating.
According to police sources, the main accused, Ramannarao Musalia Bolla, who owns a rice mill in Mauda, masterminded the scam. The gang exploited the financial distress caused by a wet drought in 2017. Bolla and his accomplices lured the farmers of the Government aid provided to drought-affected farmers. They took the farmers to the Corporation Bank on Kingsway in Sadar in Nagpur, where their Aadhaar and PAN card details were collected, and bank accounts were opened in their names.
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23 April 2025
Once the accounts were opened in the bank, the accused colluded with bank officials and issued bogus loans ranging from Rs 45 lakh to Rs 50 lakh in the names of each farmer. Signatures of the farmers were obtained, and cheques were taken to divert the loan amount to various bank accounts related to 12 companies owned by Bolla.
The fraud came to light when the farmers received notices for loan recovery from the bank, recently. The farmers confronted Bolla, who falsely promised to return the money along with interest after a few days. However, Bolla failed to deliver on his promises, leaving the victim farmers in distress. The police also said that six of the victims do not even own agricultural land. Through the use of fake documents, the accused still managed to secure loans in their names.
A case under Sections 120 (B), 109, 409, 413, 420, 467, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code, read with Section 66 (D) of Information Technology Act and Section 3 of MPID Act has been registered against the accused.
Along with Bolla, the police have booked Veer Vyankatrao Satyanarayan Wakalkudi, Mahindra Mupowarpo, the then Manager of Corporation Bank Manshuram Patil (now deceased); Sandip Jagnade of Collateral Company, officials of NCML and Directors of Bolla’s 12 companies.
Meanwhile, in response to the farmers’ complaints, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde intervened and directed Director General of Police (DGP) Rajnish Seth to initiate an investigation.
Subsequently, the Nagpur Rural Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after receiving directives from the DGP to delve into the matter. Following an extensive probe, a case was registered against the accused persons.
