2 booked for luring man with loan to sign bail papers for gangster

MEERUT: An FIR has been registered against two persons for luring a man by promising an easy loan and making him sign bail papers in 2018 for a Meerut gangster, police said Thursday.The incident came to light after Mohd Anwar, a resident of Jasar Sultannagar village, lodged a complaint at Sarurpur police station. He alleged that Babu Pandit and Shekhar Phogat, residents of Karnawal, called him to a court premises and asked to submit his identity documents, and made him sign certain papers without informing its actual purpose of securing bail for Udham Singh.Anwar told police that he was in need of money when Phogat approached him, assuring that a loan would be sanctioned without any commission.Sardhana circle officer Ashutosh Kumar said, “Anwar was unaware of the case all these years. It was only revealed when we were looking into the gangster’s case history. A case has been registered against Pandit and Phogat on charges related to cheating and criminal intimidation. Phogat has been taken into custody.”Police said Udham Singh, who was lodged in Unnao jail for nearly four years, was released on bail on March 26. He has more than 50 cases registered against him and has been in and out of jail for the past 15 years.“Fearing that anyone who would come forward to sign his bail documents might come under scanner, this strategy was deployed by his men to lure an unsuspecting signatory to sign his bail documents,” Kumar added.