Loan shocker: Woman finds Rs 4.47L debt she never took

Ahmedabad: A 31-year-old woman from Ashapur village near Bakrol has filed a complaint with Aslali police after discovering that a personal loan of Rs 4.47 lakh was fraudulently taken in her name and siphoned off to another bank account last year.The complainant, Sharmin Barnabas, who works at a private hospital on SG Highway, lives with her mother and brother. In her complaint, she stated that she maintains a savings account with HDFC Bank Ltd where her salary is credited and that she had never applied for any loan.
The matter came to light on Sep 7, 2025, when she received a message stating that Rs 10,209 had been debited from her account towards an EMI. On checking her banking app, she realised it was a loan instalment. When she approached the bank, officials informed her that a personal loan of Rs 4,47,981 had been processed in her name on Aug 15, 2025, and the amount was credited to her account the same day.Bank statements later revealed that the entire loan amount was transferred on the very day of credit to an account with IDBI Bank. Sharmin maintained that she neither applied for the loan nor received any OTP or verification call regarding the transaction.Following the bank's advice, she contacted the national cybercrime helpline and subsequently lodged a written complaint. She also escalated the issue to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) via email. Despite this, she alleged that recovery agents continued to call and even visited her residence demanding EMI payments.Sharmin has submitted her bank statements and transaction details to the police, alleging that an unknown person fraudulently availed the loan using her credentials and diverted the funds. Aslali police have registered a case of cheating and launched an investigation into how the loan was sanctioned and the identity of the beneficiary account holder.Investigators are examining digital trails, loan documentation and KYC records to ascertain whether the case involves identity theft or possible internal lapses.