Yeshwantpur police have arrested a man who had allegedly managed to obtain loans to the tune of Rs 2.77 crore by furnishing colour photocopies of his property documents to different banks.
The police are looking out for his wife, who was also involved in the crime.
The accused have been identified as Krishna Parameshwar Bhat, 57, and Asha Bhat, 49, residents of AECS Layout in Marathalli.
They, along with a gang, cheated Syndicate Bank (Yeshwantpur) of Rs 18 lakh, State Bank of Mysore (Malleswaram) of Rs 24 lakh, Canara Bank’s Bagalur branch of Rs 15 lakh, Federal Bank at Marathalli of Rs 15 lakh and other banks.
The police suspect that a gang of over 10 persons are behind in the racket, including bank officials who have approved the loan.
Bhat had managed to cheat the banks from 2004.
However, he was not arrested due to the apathy of the bank officials. He had cheated a few persons on the pretext of selling his house.
The bank officials told the police that they reported the matter to the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) to recover the loans from him.
Claiming to be a businessman, he had obtained a dealership of Swastik home-made products.
As he faced a financial crunch, a friend advised him to obtain a loan pledging his house located at Vijaynagar. After getting the loan, he approached other banks and submitted colour photocopies of the property. As his plan succeeded, he started cheating different banks.
“We are also looking for his associate Sundar Bhat, who is involved in a similar case in J P Nagar police station limits,” the police explained.