When Gwalior resident Amarjeet Singh Bhalla set out to secure a loan to expand his hospital business in Delhi, little did he know that he would fall in the trap of a fraudster and end up losing Rs 1.3 crore. It all started a few years ago when Bhalla came in contact with 59-year-old Ravinder Singh, who promised to arrange a loan from LIC Housing Finance.  

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Bhalla registered a complaint at Parliament Street police station in 2014, alleging he was cheated of Rs 1.3 crore. “Bhalla, in his complaint, stated that he needed a partner and capital to expand his hospital business in Delhi. Nagar introduced himself as an official in Life Insurance Corporation and promised to arrange funds from LIC Housing Finance,” said Ajit Kumar Singla, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

Singh had managed to convince Bhalla that he could arrange for both - partner and capital. Singh impersonated an SDO in Life Insurance Corporation and promised to arrange funds from LIC Housing Finance. Singh and his associates Jaiprakash Sharma and Ravinder Dubey met the victim in September 2012 at International Club in the Parliament Street area They took Rs 55,000 from him as an initial application fee, police said.

Singh also visited Gwalior three times between October and December 2012. There he filled four loan application forms of Rs 50 crore, Rs 40 crore, Rs 40 crore and Rs 20 crore and deposited cash Rs 55,000 with each form as application fee. “Nagar and his associates managed to cheat Bhalla of Rs 1.3 crore on the pretext of arranging loans from LIC Housing Finance. But then the victim realised that he had been cheated, police added. 

According to police, Singh is educated and is a postgraduate from Kanpur University. He settled in Delhi and started a grocery business.  But he was not satisfied with his earnings. He wanted quick money. He along with five other associates namely Chanderkant Soni, Sagar Chandani Sanjay Verma, Kiran Shah and Manoj Janolia cheated Bhalla of Gwalior on the pretext of arranging loans from the LICHousing Ltd. He went underground when the case was registered against him. He was finally caught 4 years after being on the run.

Singh was arrested from Northwest Delhi’s Netaji Subhash Place, police said on Tuesday. A resident of Nangloi in Delhi, Singh was carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 on information leading to his arrest, according to police. 

Money lesson

It is always advisable to not believe in touts promising to secure an easy loan from any financial institution. The background check of the agent, while dealing with a large sum of money, is also important. 
LIC mandates all directors and senior management to act within the bounds of the authority conferred upon them. The official code of conduct of LIC Housing Finance says, "All directors and senior management shall conduct their activities, on behalf of the company and on their personal behalf, with honesty, integrity and fairness."

The code of conducts for LIC clearly doesn't allow any staff from indulging in corruption. The moment someone like Singh approaches you for an easy loan, you should raise an alarm, informed the police. 

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This will ensure that you do not lose large amounts of money, your business remains a flourishing one, there will be no problems about expansion with loans sourced from genuine banks and it will also ensure you do not have to make innumerable rounds of police stations and courts.