Kapu: Couple held for forging land records, cheating banks of Rs 1.02 crore

Kapu: Couple held for forging land records, cheating banks of Rs 1.02 crore

Mangalore Today News Network

Kapu, Aug 23, 2025: Kapu police have arrested a couple accused of fabricating fake land records, forging signatures, and cheating financial institutions of a total of ₹1.02 crore, including a ₹45 lakh loan from Katapadi Co-operative Agricultural Society.

The arrested are Riyanath Banu (25), a resident of Mallaru Kombagudde, and her husband Nouman Ismail (33), a resident of Bhaskar Nagar, Uchila Bada village.

Between February 21 and March 27, 2024, the couple, with the intent to cheat, pledged fake property documents and took a loan of ₹45 lakh from the Katapadi society by presenting Dinesh and Rajesh as guarantors. They paid installments only for three months and defaulted thereafter.

When the society verified their documents with government offices, it was found that the couple had forged sale deeds belonging to one Shakunthala R., agreement papers, signatures and seals of the sub-registrar, loan bonds, revenue officials’ seals, and stamps, thereby creating fake documents to obtain the loan.

Following this, the branch manager of the society, Modin D. Khan, filed a complaint with Kapu police on January 3. Based on the complaint, police launched an extensive investigation, tracking the couple across Bengaluru, Jamkhandi, and Kerala. Eventually, the duo was traced to Kottakkal, Malappuram (Kerala). A police team, disguised and keeping close watch for about a month, finally arrested them on August 12.

During interrogation, the couple admitted to multiple frauds:

₹45 lakh loan from Katapadi Co-op Bank with fake land records.

₹18 lakh car loan from Bank of Baroda, Kapu branch, later sold with forged papers.

₹15 lakh loan from Canara Bank, Arasikere branch, using fake documents.

₹3.75 lakh advance collected in Udupi by falsely claiming to lease a house.

₹8 lakh loan from Nutan Credit Co-op Society by pledging a car.

₹13 lakh loan from Udupi Industrial Co-op Society for a Jeep Compass, which was later sold in Bengaluru with forged papers.

In total, they defrauded various institutions of ₹1.02 crore.

The couple was produced before court, which remanded them to 14 days judicial custody after police custody and interrogation revealed further details of their fraud network.

This operation was led by SP Hariram Shankar, ASP Dr. Harsham Priyavada (Karkala subdivision), Kapu CPI Jayashree Mane, SI Tejaswi T.I., and crime division staff Rafiq, Raghu, Mohan and others.