Delhi Police arrest alleged ₹18 crore bank fraudster after 9 years on the run

AAdult male who has allegedly cheated multiple sir joseph banks, making o'er ₹18 crore through and through forged holding documents and impersonation, has been arrested by the Delhi Police after evading arrest for nearly nine years, officials said on Saturday.Sanjeev Dixit alias Sanjay Sharma, 53, was arrested on Thursday in connection with a 2013 cheating and forgery case registered at the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) police station.Police said Dixit had been absconding since 2017 after escaping custody of Uttar Pradesh Police and was later declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court. He was later found to be in Tihar Jail in another criminal case.Also Read | Delhi Police arrest 916 people in action against cyber fraudAccording to the EOW, the case was registered on the complaint of one Usha Rani Sethi, who alleged that Dixit, along with his associates, fraudulently transferred her property in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar by executing a forged sale deed in February 2013.Investigators found that the accused arranged for a woman to pose as the complainant before the office of the sub-registrar and used PAN details of another person with the same name to complete the fraudulent transaction.Police said the forged sale deed was then used to create an equitable mortgage, enabling the accused to secure loans and credit facilities from multiple banks.The fraud involved credit worth over ₹18 crore, including ₹10 crore from Chinatrust Commercial Bank, ₹5 crore as cash credit, a ₹70 lakh car loan and another ₹3 crore cash credit facility from other banks. Most of the loan accounts later turned into non-performing assets (NPAs), causing substantial losses to financial institutions, officials said.The probe also revealed that the accused had placed his associate as a tenant in the complainant's property to gain access to title details and facilitate the fraud. The money obtained from banks was allegedly routed through shell companies and fictitious bank accounts before being siphoned off through cash withdrawals and personal expenditures.Despite repeated notices and searches, Dixit remained untraceable for years. After sustained technical surveillance, police discovered that he was lodged in Tihar Jail in another criminal case. Following a production warrant from a Delhi court, he was formally arrested in the present case also on June 25.Police described Dixit as a habitual economic offender with at least 12 criminal cases registered against him by the CBI and police in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The cases include cheating, forgery, corruption and criminal conspiracy.