Navi Mumbai: Three officials of a credit co-operative society for Mathadi workers, having office in the premises of APMC fruit market, Turbhe, along with their five accomplices, have been named in an FIR for siphoning off Rs 6.7 crore by forging documents and signatures of several Mathadi worker for fraudulently registering their membership account and disbursing loans in their names without their knowledge.An FIR was registered at the APMC police station on Monday after a complaint was lodged by a 29-year-old Mathadi worker who was one of the victims. The accused are Baburao Ramishte Mathadi Kamgar Sahakari Patpedhi’s chairman, vice-chairman, other concerned office-bearers, divisional secretary of All India Mathadi, Transport and General Workers’ Unions, former manager of Vashi/Turbhe branch, a clerk and three heads (mukadams) of Mathadi workers’ groups.The accused were charged under relevant BNS sections for cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, forgery of valuable security, will, etc, forged document or electronic record using it as genuine and joint criminal liability.ACP Vishal Hire of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) informed that an FIR was registered against the accused persons after a complaint was lodged at the EOW unit-3 by a Mathadi worker Akash Jagtap, a resident of Kalamboli. The complainant alleged that from June 20 onwards, the accused had conspired, used forged documents and signatures of several mathadi workers, opened their membership accounts in the credit co-operative society, without their knowledge. Thereafter, approved huge loans in their name, ranging from Rs 13 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, thus committing financial fraud of collectively ₹6.67 crore at the credit co-operative society.ACP Hire said, “During the preliminary probe of the complaint, the scrutiny of documents at the credit co-operative society and bank transactions with loan disbursements revealed that the accused persons had connived for fraudulently approving loans in the names of 31 mathadi workers after forging their documents and signatures for opening their membership accounts for availing the loans. The accused persons have not being arrested yet as in-depth probe is being conducted.“
