In a major breakthrough, Special Task Force (STF) Jabalpur busted a gang involved in financing of two wheelers through forged documents. STF have arrested three members of the gang and seized 21 two-wheelers amounting to Rs 25 lakh from them. The arrested have been identified as Prashant Kushwaha, Resident of Ranjhi who Acted as a broker, facilitating vehicle financing, Indrajeet Kushwaha, resident of Ranjhi who used the documents of unsuspecting individuals to finance two-wheelers and Praveen Singh, Resident of Dhanoura, Seoni who purchased financed vehicles and resold them at higher prices in rural areas. Under the direction of STF Special Director General of Police Pankaj Kumar Srivastava (IPS), STF units were instructed to identify and act against individuals involved in organized crimes. Acting on this directive, the Jabalpur STF unit uncovered the fraud under the supervision of STF, SP, Rajesh Singh Bhadoria and AIG Vineet Kumar Choudhary.

 

The operation was led by DSP STF Santosh Tiwari along with Inspector Nikita Shukla and her team. STF Jabalpur, Inspector, Nikita Shukla disclosed this while addressing a press conference, on Monday. Inspector, Shukla informed that the gang targeted unsuspecting individuals, using their documents to create fake identities for financing vehicles. These vehicles were then transported to rural areas like Seoni and other remote locations for resale. The investigation began when Geeta Kushwaha, a resident of Ranjhi, informed that her documents were misused. She alleged that Prashant, a gang member, took her documents under the pretext of availing loans and used them to finance vehicles. Later, she found the fraud when attempting to finance a mobile phone. Upon verification of the information, the STF registered a case against the accused. During the investigation, it was revealed that the gang, led by Prashant Kushwaha, involved members Indrajeet Kushwaha, Vivek Singh Rajput, and Praveen Singh, along with other accomplices, including women.

 

Prashant Kushwaha was traced in Uttar Pradesh. Acting on a tip-off, STF apprehended him at Jabalpur Railway Station. His arrest was pivotal, with significant contributions from Rahul Raghuvanshi in tracking his movements. The STF seized 21 two-wheelers and a large cache of forged documents during the probe. Praveen Singh, who operated a Jewelry shop in Dhanoura, provided down payments for vehicles purchased with forged documents. After financing, Prashant and Indrajeet handed over the vehicles to Praveen, who resold them in rural areas without the knowledge of the original owners. The investigation revealed involvement of agents from financial companies such as Kotak Mahindra, ICICI, and Bajaj Finance. STF is working to identify these agents and trace other intermediaries involved in the fraud. The operation was successful due to contributions of Inspector Nikita Shukla, Head Constables Vijay Kori, Anjani Pathak, Vijay Tiwari, and Constables Rahul Raghuvanshi, Praveen Bawaria, Rahul Rajak, Rupesh Rai, and Rahul Yadav.