Dharpur (Surguja), Chhattisgarh | A major financial fraud has come to light in Surguja district, where a rural agriculture extension officer was allegedly cheated of ₹57.55 lakh under the guise of easy home loan assistance and EMI management. Police have registered a case against five individuals after it was revealed that loans worth approximately ₹1.05 crore were fraudulently sanctioned in the victim’s name across multiple banks, and a significant portion of the funds was siphoned off by the accused.
The complainant, Lalsai Ram Bakla, a resident of Lundra and working as a rural agriculture extension officer, stated in his police complaint at Dharpur police station that he had applied for a ₹18 lakh home loan from the State Bank of India in 2024 to construct a house. However, his application was rejected by the bank.
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Following this, two acquaintances, Surendra Singh and Santosh Das, allegedly introduced him to a man named Shivshankar Das, who claimed to assist in securing home loans easily. According to the complaint, Shivshankar Das assured the victim that he could arrange a loan of around ₹30 lakh and would personally take responsibility for paying the EMIs, ensuring that the complainant would not face any financial burden.
Trusting these assurances, the victim handed over his personal documents, which were then used to process loan applications across multiple banks. Investigators found that OTP-based verification was also misused to facilitate the loan approvals.
It has been revealed during the preliminary probe that home loans totaling more than ₹1.05 crore were sanctioned in the complainant’s name and credited to his bank accounts. The accused then allegedly convinced him that 60 percent of the loan amount would be returned to them and that they would handle all EMI payments. He was also assured that in case of any repayment issue, the responsibility of his land and house would be taken care of by them.
Following these assurances, the victim transferred a large sum of money through RTGS and cash transactions into multiple accounts linked to the accused. As per the complaint, around ₹41.05 lakh was transferred to accounts belonging to Shivshankar Das, Arvind Kumar, and Asha Manikpuri, while an additional ₹16.55 lakh was handed over in cash at different intervals.
Initially, the accused reportedly paid a few EMIs to maintain trust, but later stopped all payments, leaving the victim in financial distress.
The situation worsened when multiple banks, including SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Gramin Bank, Axis Bank, and Cholamandalam Finance, began issuing recovery notices for non-payment of EMIs. Subsequently, the victim’s salary account was also frozen by the bank, pushing him into severe financial hardship.
Based on the complaint, Dharpur police have registered a case under Sections 318(4) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Shivshankar Das, Surendra Singh, Santosh Das, Arvind Kumar, and Asha Manikpuri. Officials confirmed that investigation into the case is underway.
Authorities revealed that the prime accused, Shivshankar Das, is allegedly involved in multiple similar fraud cases in which teachers and government employees were targeted with promises of loan facilitation and financial assistance. He is also said to have operated a group under the name “AnshivArya Foundation Group,” which was allegedly used to lure victims into similar schemes.
Police sources indicated that Shivshankar Das has already been arrested in related cases and is currently in jail, while efforts are ongoing to trace other accused individuals involved in the network.
Investigators are now examining financial transactions, bank records, and digital evidence to map the entire money trail. Officials suspect that the case may be part of a larger organized financial fraud network operating across multiple districts.
The investigation is ongoing, and further details are expected as authorities continue to trace additional links in the alleged scam.
