Using the advanced Facial Recognition System (FRS), the Delhi Police has arrested three people who secured a loan of Rs 75 lakh by mortgaging a property and preparing forged documents. The police arrested Pankaj Sachdeva alias Roshan Manchanda (61), who had fabricated his property documents and identification credentials to secure the loan. The arrest also exposed the involvement of two accomplices, Suhail Chauhan and Nitin Verma, who worked as freelance loan agents.
According to the police, the case was registered in 2019 on the complaint of Harminder Kaur Anand, a Bengaluru-based resident, who alleged that the property she purchased in 2011 at Rana Pratap Bagh in Northwest Delhi had been fraudulently mortgaged to a private bank for a loan of Rs 75 lakh.
“The woman was shocked to learn about the fraud during a visit to the property in 2018 when neighbours reported suspicious activities and her son-in-law discovered a loan notice pasted on the property,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Abhishek Dhania said.
The officer further said that the fraudsters had prepared forged documents to mortgage the property and availed the loan subsequently diverting the funds to multiple accounts under fake identities. The gang specifically targeted long-vacant properties, creating a chain of fake documents to establish ownership. They then used these forged papers to secure loans from financial institutions. The funds were swiftly transferred to various accounts to avoid detection, making it difficult to trace the money trail, he said.
After years of evading capture, the Delhi Police deployed FRS technology to crack the case. During the investigation, a photograph from the bank account opening form linked to the fraudulent loan was processed through the FRS system. A 72 per cent match was found with an existing state dossier, revealing the suspect’s true identity as Pankaj Sachdeva, a resident of Tagore Garden area.
“Sachdeva had been using a fake name as Roshan Manchanda and had fabricated several identification documents, including a PAN card and voter ID, to support his fraudulent activities. He was also linked to three other criminal cases involving forgery and cheating,” said the DCP.
Based on the FRS results, a team was formed to apprehend Sachdeva. A raid was conducted at his residence in Tagore Garden, where he was arrested. Upon interrogation, he disclosed the involvement of his accomplices Suhail Chauhan and Nitin Verma, who had facilitated the loan process and received Rs 18.4 lakh as beneficiaries. Both were subsequently arrested from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana.
