Duo who cheated people using fake bank cheques arrested

MUMBAI: Two persons, one of whom is the president of a political party, have been arrested for cheating people by promising loans and issuing fake cheques for a bank in Alaska, a senior police official said today.

R R Pandyan, president of Rashtriya Bhim Sena and his associate Jatin Shah were arrested after ten persons filed complaints against them.

"Pandyan had advetised in some newspapers in April claiming he could get people short term loans at low interest," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said.

Applicants who approached Pandyan were allegedly told that he would pay them in the form of cheques and they would have to pay him a commission for obtaining the loan, he said.

"Pandyan paid them in cheques issued from a fictitious bank Federal Credit Bank in Alaska, USA," Maria said.

Shah would allegedly accept documents from the applicants and claimed he would get the paperwork for the loan done from the bank in Alaska, he said.

The ten complainants who approached the police did so after the cheques were found to be fake and said that they had cumulatively paid Pandyan a sum of Rs 35 lakh as commission, Maria said.

The police are investigating how many people were duped by Pandyan with this scheme and expect complainants to also come forward in the coming days.

Shah was arrested on September 2 and Pandyan was arrested from his residence in northeast Mumbai a day later, Maria said. Pandyan is presently in police custody. PTI