RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has submitted a chargesheet against three individuals in a 26-year-old case linked to fraudulent loans totaling Rs 1.86 crore. With interest, this has escalated into a bad debt of approximately Rs 104 crore, officials reported on Saturday.
The extensive 15,000-page chargesheet was presented on Friday to a special court under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Raipur against Thawardas Madhwani, the former president of Adhunik Grih Nirman Cooperative Society Ltd, Pradeep Kumar Nikhra, the former manager of the Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Housing Federation Ltd (MPSCHFL), and Basant Kumar Sahu, the former housing supervisor of MPSCHFL’s regional office in Raipur, as confirmed by an EOW official.
This case was initiated in 2000, with the alleged misconduct occurring between 1995 and 1998 in undivided Madhya Pradesh under a government housing scheme for deserving beneficiaries.
During the period from 1995-98, Madhwani secured housing loans amounting to Rs 1.86 crore from the Raipur regional office of MPSCHFL in the names of 186 society members, each obtaining Rs 1 lakh for home construction.
Loan records for beneficiaries, including Laxmichand Chimanani, Dilip Kumar Balani, and others, indicated proposed construction sites in Raipura and Pandri Kampa. However, investigations revealed that no houses were built at these locations, and the supposed borrowers were untraceable at the addresses listed in the loan documents.
“The investigation revealed that the accused allegedly conspired to misappropriate funds from the cooperative housing federation by creating forged documents and fake beneficiary profiles to secure loan approvals,” an EOW official stated.
It was further uncovered that AE Gebrial, then the regional officer of the Federation’s Raipur office, along with housing supervisor Basant Kumar Sahu, issued utilization and stage-wise completion certificates for the housing loans without conducting proper verifications. They purportedly exploited their positions to advocate for loan approvals, which were subsequently sanctioned by officials in Bhopal.
Unfortunately, the accused are believed to have dispersed the loan amounts among themselves, resulting in a loss of Rs 1.86 crore to the State Cooperative Housing Federation.
“As of December 31, 2025, the total outstanding amount, including accrued interest, has ballooned to nearly Rs 104 crore and is classified as a non-performing asset. Madhwani and Sahu were arrested by the EOW in March this year, followed by Nikhra’s arrest in April,” stated the EOW.
The investigation has now concluded, and the chargesheet has been filed before the special court.
