Mumbai, Aug 14 (NationPress) A troubling incident of cyber fraud has surfaced from the Malad locality in Maharashtra's Mumbai, where three cyber criminals are accused of defrauding a local entrepreneur of substantial sums by deceitfully offering a loan through the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY).

The suspects, named Nitin Kumar, Ashwin Kumar, and Dayashankar Mishra, have been charged by the Cyber Cell of the North Regional Division for cheating and under pertinent sections of the Information Technology Act.

As per police reports, the victim, who operates an imitation jewellery packaging venture in Malad, sought a loan of Rs 10 lakh to grow his business. In June 2025, he downloaded a mobile app and submitted a loan application.

A few days later, he received a call from someone claiming to be Nitin Kumar, who purported to represent the Prime Minister Mudra Yojana office situated in BKC, Mumbai. Nitin assured him that a loan of Rs 10 lakh had been approved and asked for personal documentation and the loan application. He even forwarded an approval letter via WhatsApp.

Shortly after, Nitin began soliciting funds for processing fees and other expenses. At this point, another individual named Ashwin Kumar reached out to the victim, claiming Nitin had given him the number. Presenting himself as a State Bank employee, Ashwin sent his ID card over WhatsApp to build trust.

On various grounds, Ashwin urged immediate payments, leading the victim to transfer Rs 9,53,177 into multiple bank accounts. To gather the necessary funds, he further borrowed Rs 46,251 from friends, who also transferred money to the fraudsters' accounts.

Despite numerous reassurances, the victim never received the promised loan amount. Eventually, attempts to contact both Nitin and Ashwin went unanswered.

The victim then reached out to another person whose account he had transferred money to. This individual, identified as Dayashankar Mishra from a finance company, was informed of the scam. However, Dayashankar also deceived the victim with more loan promises, extracting an additional Rs 18,73,700 for “processing” and associated charges—again, without disbursing any loan.

Realizing he had been scammed, the victim approached local authorities and the North Regional Cyber Cell, resulting in the filing of a First Information Report (FIR). Law enforcement is currently tracking the bank accounts into which the funds were deposited, and further investigations are ongoing.

The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, which was inaugurated on April 8, 2015, aims to empower non-corporate, non-farm small and micro enterprises by providing loans up to Rs 10 lakh. In the Union Budget 2024–25, the Finance Minister increased the loan limit to Rs 20 lakh, effective from October 24, 2024, to further assist aspiring entrepreneurs.