Machilipatnam: Four arrested in loan app harassment cases

Machilipatnam: Krishna district police arrested four persons in connection with loan apps and for harassing the borrowers. Two victims had taken loan and have been facing harassment by the loan apps staff. Unable to put up with the harassment, they lodged a complaint with the police, who after investigation arrested the four accused. Krishna district superintendent of police P Joshua gave details of the crime and arrest of the four accused in Maharashtra to media here on Saturday.

One woman in Penamaluru mandal of Krishna district received a SMs on her phone offering loan. When she downloaded the app mentioned in the SMS and opted for Rs 7,000 loan, the money was transferred from ICICI Bank branch in West Bengal on July 20, 2022.

The loan app staff began harassing her for payment on July 27. They put pressure on her to cough up excessive interest. They collected her personal information and began to share her morphed images with her relatives and friends whose numbers they collected from her mobile through the app. The woman lodged a complaint with Penamaluru police on August 9, 2022. The police registered a case under Section 420 IPC, 66-D,66-B, IT Act 2000 and began the probe.

Another woman also faced similar harassment from the loan apps under Atkuru police station limits in the district. A woman had taken loan of Rs 3,360 and the staff later asked her to repay Rs 7,000 within a short time. They sent some links and asked her to repay the loan immediately. When she failed to do so, they shared the morphed images of the women with her friends and relatives. The woman lodged a complaint with Atkuru police who registered cases.

SP Joshua formed special teams and sent them to Maharashtra. The special teams nabbed four accused there identified as Nilesh Vilas Gorade, 29, Amit Sunil Gavli, 31, Sarfaraj Azeej Shaik, 32, and Ramdas Dattatreya.

The SP said Nilesh, Amit and Sarfaraj take commission and make threatening calls to the customers. They have contact with another accused Jaiveer, who uses the links to collect money.

Another accused Omkar Sankar involved in such Loan app cases is facing imprisonment.

The SP appealed to the people not to fall prey to the loan apps and stay away from cheaters. He suggested that people take loans from the banks registered with the Reserve bank of India. They should lodge a complaint with cybercrime reporting number 1930 and cyber mitra number 9121211100 if they were harassed.

Special Enforcement Bureau additional SP Asma Farheen, special branch in-charge DSP Bharat and other officials were present in the press meet.