2 held for duping villagers of Rs 1.5cr savings

Lucknow: In the Rs 1.5 crore fraud case involving a nationalised bank's Chhajjapur branch in Tanda, police arrested the alleged mastermind, an insurance agent, along with his associate, on charges of siphoning off compensation money belonging to nearly 50 villagers. Police said four FIRs were registered in this connection.SP Abhijeet R Shankar said the prime accused, Umer Ahmad, was arrested from Phulwariya Tiraha, while his accomplice, Sharad Maurya, was apprehended from his residence in Mirapur, Tanda.
Police were informed about the case on Feb 4 during a (janata darshan) public grievance hearing, when Rupwati Devi and about 15 other villagers lodged complaint alleging that Ahmad, in collusion with certain bank employees, misappropriated their compensation funds received from NTPC and NHAI. The money was allegedly diverted under the guise of fake insurance policies and fixed deposits.Tanda police CO Shubham Kumar and inspector Deepak Raghuvanshi led the investigation, in which it came to light that Ahmad duped villagers since 2019 by promising to double their money. Investigators found evidence of collusion involving then branch manager and two bank employees. Ahmad allegedly influenced the branch staff by gifting them expensive gadgets and presents.Police seized a car, motorcycle, scooter, iPhone and a Samsung mobile phone purchased with the proceeds of the fraud. Meanwhile, 13 bank accounts linked to the scam were frozen.According to police, Ahmad operated from the bank premises, calling villagers to the branch and convincing them to invest. Initially, he manipulated smaller policy amounts of Rs 1–2 lakh before pulling a larger scam. Sharad Maurya, a wedding photo and video editor, allegedly created forged policy bonds resembling genuine documents and was reportedly paid Rs 2,000 for each fake bond prepared.In an attempt to mislead investigators, Ahmad initially named two bank officers, currently posted in Ayodhya and Basti. However, police inquiries revealed these officers exposed Ahmad's irregularities in 2024 and facilitated his removal as an agent. Police believe he implicated them falsely out of personal vendetta.On the other hand, for 50 rural families, the misappropriated funds were lifetime savings or land acquisition compensation. Resident of Kakrancha village, Suryalal, said he invested Rs 9 lakh in an FD for his daughters' marriages, only to discover later that bond was forged. Preparations for his daughter's wedding were underway when the deception came to light.Similarly, Rupwati Devi alleged she was duped of Rs 10 lakh, money that was meant to fund her sons' NEET and SSC preparations in Varanasi and Prayagraj. Rakesh Verma of Ghazipur said he invested Rs 13 lakh from NTPC land compensation in an FD. Later, he discovered that receipts of only Rs 3 lakh were genuine, while the Rs 10 lakh bond was fake. His son, who was preparing for competitive exams in Kota, had to discontinue studies and return home.Police said further investigation was underway and action against bank officials involved was likely after completion of departmental probe and efforts were on to trace and recover the defrauded amount.