HUBBALLI, JUNE 11: In a swift operation, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police have arrested a man who posed as a high-profile financier and duped a woman of ₹60 lakh under the pretext of helping her secure a low-interest loan. The accused, identified as A. Mohammed Asif from Mysuru, had been operating under the alias “Sudheer Mehta.” He was apprehended just six days after the First Information Report (FIR) was filed.
According to Hubballi Dharwad City Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar, the accused met the victim, Ashwini Pedavada from Pune, at a recent function in Mysuru. During a casual conversation, he claimed to have close ties with top banking officials and influential individuals, offering to help her obtain a ₹50 crore loan to support her daughter’s construction business.
Trusting his claims, the woman initially paid him ₹2 lakh to initiate the process. Over time, the accused demanded larger sums under various pretexts, including processing fees and documentation charges. In total, he collected ₹60 lakh from her.
To give a false sense of progress, Asif handed over what he claimed was an advance of ₹1.87 crore — which turned out to be fake currency, shockingly made of toy notes used in children’s play sets.
The fraudulent transaction was executed in Hubballi, which the accused used as a neutral meeting point. Following the complaint, CCB officials swung into action and nabbed Asif, seizing the fake notes worth ₹1.87 crore, ₹5,000 in genuine currency, a car valued at ₹4 lakh, and two mobile phones.
He has since been remanded to judicial custody.
“The accused had created an elaborate façade to gain the trust of his victim. We urge anyone else who may have been duped by him to come forward and file a complaint,” Commissioner Shashi Kumar said at a press briefing.
The investigation team comprised CCB Assistant Commissioner of Police S.T. Odeyar, Inspector Maruti Gullari, PSIs Puneet Kumar, T.M. Manjunath, D. Roopak, and constables M.B. Patil, M.D. Badiger, M.B. Bhajantri, and S.S. Pandey.
