Four years after an Alibaug resident was cheated of ₹11.6 lakh under the pretext of being given a loan, the Local Crime Branch (LCB) have arrested four men from Delhi and Lucknow in connection with the case.

The conmen allegedly promised the complainant a ₹20-lakh loan in 2015. The complainant, was in need of money for the education and marriage of his four daughters, and when the conmen contacted him, he fell for the offer.

“The accused introduced themselves from Bajaj Finance. They first told him he was eligible for a ₹6-lakh loan which was cancelled, and that he was instead eligible for a ₹20-lakh loan. He was made to pay ₹11.60 lakh in close to six months in the name of verification and processing fees and was told the amount was refundable. The amount was transferred to around 10 different accounts,” police sub inspector Amol Valsang from the LCB said.

The case was registered in January 2016 and the first arrest was made on March 26 this year in New Delhi. The first accused has been identified as Rahul Ashok Kumar Verma (35) from Lucknow. The LCB made three more arrests in April, and the accused have been identified as Ashok Kumar alias Manojkumar Shriramtirth Verma (24), Sonu Surendra (30) and Rahul Dayanand Chandaliya (31).

The accused had opened bank accounts in New Delhi and Lucknow under the names of City Value, Indian Value and Express Money. “While investigating each bank account, we received the information that one of the banks in Lucknow was embroiled in a legal case. We investigated further and found Mr. Verma, who was on bail in another case,” Mr Valsang said.

According to police, the accused had opened the bank accounts in 2012 under the pretext of starting a business of holiday packages but instead started cheating people in the name of finance companies. “The accused use to search various websites wherein people would post their loan requirements, and get in touch with them. They used to also randomly dial phone numbers by changing the last digit of any number found on the internet,” Mr. Valsang said.

“The accused have committed similar crimes in Delhi, Rajasthan, Hyderabad and Haryana. And now the police from all these States will take them into custody for investigations,” said police inspector Jamil Shaikh from Raigad LCB, who led the case.