CBI Arrests Proclaimed Offender in a high-value Bank Fraud Case; Advanced Tech Tools help identify and locate the accused absconding for nearly Seven Years
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, July 21, 2025: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has traced and arrested a proclaimed offender Smt. Nasreen Taj, in a high-value bank fraud case, pursuant to sustained and meticulous efforts made by the investigating team, as per a press release issued by the CBI today.
The instant bank fraud case was registered by CBI on 15.04.2009 against accused persons including, the then Branch Manager of Syndicate Bank, Mandya Branch, Shri Asadullah Khan and 8 others for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and use of forged documents as genuine, to defraud the Syndicate Bank. In this case, the accused had conspired to cheat the Syndicate bank to the tune of Rs12.63 Crores. Smt. Nasreen Taj, had no independent source of income. However, in collusion with her husband, Shri Asadullah Khan, and others, she fraudulently availed a Temporary Overdraft (TOD) facility of up to Rs120 lakhs, along with farm loans amounting to Rs55 lakhs from Syndicate Bank. The proceeds from these farm loans were illicitly diverted by her towards the repayment of the TOD, instead of utilizing it for agricultural development, as mandated under the terms of sanction.
After completion of investigation, CBI filed the charge sheet on 12.10.2010, making Smt. Nasreen Taj as one of the conspirators to cheat and defraud the Syndicate Bank. She failed to join the trial or respond to summons/warrants and was untraceable since 2019. Multiple Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) were issued against her since 30.04.2019. Finally, the Special Court, Bengaluru, on 27.11.2021, ordered to issue Proclamation and Attachment of property warrant against her. Despite sustained efforts over the years to trace her, the absconding accused had remained untraceable. While other co-accused were tried and convicted/acquitted in the case, the trial against the absconding accused remained pending.
The accused Smt. Nasreen Taj had deliberately severed contact with her spouse, family members, and social network, frequently changed residences and assumed a new name. She had misled the local resident as well as the employer about her real identity and had maintained minimal interaction with locals, further hindering efforts to trace her.
The CBI through the deployment of advanced technological tools and identity-tracking databases, meticulously analyzed the digital footprint of the absconding accused to ascertain her current identity and location. Supplemented by extensive field investigations and on-ground inquiries, the CBI team successfully located Smt. Nasreen Taj in Bengaluru, where she was living under a false name of Ms. Salma.
Pursuant to her identification, Smt. Nasreen Taj was apprehended on 19.07.2025 and produced before the Competent Court at Bengaluru, which remanded her to judicial custody for the purpose of further trial proceedings. The accused is presently undergoing trial, having remained absconding for a period of nearly seven years.
This case is a classic example of how the integration of technology-driven intelligence platforms with the persistent and coordinated efforts of investigating officers on the ground can substantially augment the operational capabilities of law enforcement agencies in tracing and apprehending long-absconding offenders.
