Fraudster cheats Shirur women of over ₹4 lakh by misusing name of Bhatkal’s Tanzeem

Bhatkal: A major fraud case has come to light in Shirur, where an unidentified man posed as a representative of Bhatkal’s century-old social organisation, Majlis-e-Islah-wa-Tanzeem, and duped several women of lakhs of rupees by promising interest-free loans.

According to the victims, the accused had approached a woman in Haduvinkone, Shirur, around nine months ago, introducing himself as an executive member of Tanzeem. He claimed that the organisation had created a large fund to provide interest-free loans of up to ₹5 lakh for poor and needy families. However, he told them that each applicant would have to pay ₹12,000 as a registration fee to avail of the scheme.

Believing his words, the woman registered herself and also encouraged her relatives and acquaintances to do the same. In this manner, a total of 22 women were lured into the scheme, collectively paying the fraudster ₹4,07,000. When they later demanded the promised loans, the man allegedly gave them fake bank cheques before going underground. He has since stopped responding to phone calls and is absconding.

The victims have now lodged a complaint at Byndoor Police Station, urging the authorities to arrest the accused and secure justice. Speaking to reporters in Bhatkal, some of the women expressed deep anguish over the incident. “We are poor people. When he told us that Tanzeem was offering interest-free loans, we believed him. But instead, he looted us in the name of Tanzeem,” one of them said. There are also suspicions that the accused may have carried out similar scams in other areas.

Reacting to the matter, Abdul Raqeeb M.J. Nadvi, General Secretary of Majlis-e-Islah-wa-Tanzeem, strongly condemned the fraud and clarified that the organisation has never offered loans. “Our organisation does not have any provision for giving loans, nor do we possess the kind of funds to do so. The accused misused Tanzeem’s name to cheat innocent women, which is a serious crime and requires immediate legal action,” Nadvi stated.

He added that the Tanzeem is consulting legal experts to initiate proceedings against the accused. He also urged the police and the administration to act swiftly, ensure the arrest of the culprit, and recover the victims’ hard-earned money.