Delhi: Bank duped into giving Rs 1.9 crore loan in dead woman’s name

New Delhi: Harbans Kaur, a resident of west Delhi, died in 2015. In 2017, “Kaur” availed of a loan of Rs 1.9 crore against her house from Punjab National Bank (PNB). A bank account was also opened in her name and the money transferred. “Kaur”, however, defaulted on EMI payments two months later.
In 2020, PNB went to the police about the scam. The cops then unravelled the fraud: another woman had impersonated Kaur and allegedly pulled off the con with two associates. Police said the three were arrested by their economic offences wing.
According to joint commissioner Chhaya Sharma, the accused were identified as Bhupinder Singh (57), his wife, Sukhwant Kaur (57), and their son, Gurpreet Singh (35). They were nabbed from their residence in Hari Nagar, she added.
In the complaint lodged by the bank, it was alleged that the couple had availed of a loan of Rs 1.9 crore and mortgaged a property in Jangpura Extension in 2017.
"The accused entered into sale deed with Kaur, who was the alleged owner of the property. After the couple failed to maintain financial discipline, the banks started the process of the property's possession," the joint commissioner added.
"During inquiry, the bank officials came to know that Kaur had died in 2015 and the sale deed was executed by another woman impersonating as Kaur," she added.
According to police, the accused availed of loan on the basis of the sale deed executed between the accused and Kaur. "Our inquiry revealed that Kaur died in 2015 and the money was transferred in fake accounts, which was opened in the name of one Abnash Kaur, and was later transferred to the bank accounts of the accused. After paying a few instalments, the trio stopped paying the loan," police said.
Police said the loan amount was diverted through fictitious transactions. After availing of the loan facilities, the trio fled from the given address.
During inquiry, the cops came to know about their movements. A raid was conducted and the accused nabbed from their residence in Hari Nagar. Police said financial institutions, banks and NBFCs have been advised to carry out due diligence before sanctioning loans or credit facility against any property.