Detectives nabs 5 in ₹66.86 lakh bank loan fraud from Dum Dum, Howrah, Haridevpur

The Banking Fraud Squad (BFS) of the Detective Department (DD) arrested five individuals on 19 and 20 May 2025 in connection with a ₹66.86 lakh home loan and insurance fraud case registered under Bowbazar Police Station. The arrests were made from Dum Dum, Howrah, and Haridevpur areas. The case, initially recorded by local police on 2 January 2025, was later taken over by BFS for further investigation.

The complaint was lodged by Vinay Ramani, Deputy General Manager and Centre Head of Retail Asset Centre (RAC), IDBI Bank, Kolkata. He alleged that prior to 10 February 2023, the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy, prepared forged documents including fake PAN, Aadhaar, and salary slips in the name of one genuine Saibal Ghosh, and induced the bank to sanction a home loan of ₹62.10 lakh along with an insurance premium of ₹4.76 lakh. The total amount of ₹66,86,698 was disbursed to the accused persons, who subsequently misappropriated it.

During investigation, BFS officers seized relevant documents from IDBI Bank and traced the monetary trail through account statements. The disbursed loan was found to have been credited to the account of BD Construction, whose proprietors Falguni Das and Biplab Bhattacharya transferred portions of the funds to Sudipta Basak and Palash Biswas through intermediary accounts such as Shark International and Swift Trading. The forgery and fund flow were substantiated through seized evidence and collected statements.

The arrested persons are: Saibal Ghosh (53), who impersonated a borrower using forged documents; Falguni Das (62) and Biplab Bhattacharya (63), both developers and proprietors of BD Construction, who received and diverted the funds; Sudipta Basak (35), who prepared the forged documents and was a beneficiary; and Palash Biswas (50), identified as the arranger of the borrower and property and recipient of misappropriated funds. All five were arrested from their respective locations and were produced before the Ld. ACJM (II), Calcutta, on 21 May 2025 for police remand.

Investigation into the case is ongoing. Authorities are continuing efforts to trace and recover the misappropriated loan amount. The case has been registered under Sections 61(2), 318(4), 336(2), 338, and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.