In a major breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a long-absconding fraud accused, Ms. Nasreen Taj, who had been on the run for nearly seven years in a ₹12.63 crore Syndicate Bank scam. Her arrest was made possible through the use of advanced surveillance technology, digital identity tracking tools, and persistent field efforts by the CBI team.
The bank fraud case was originally registered on April 15, 2009, against multiple accused, including then Syndicate Bank Branch Manager Asadullah Khan (Mandya branch) and eight others, for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery. The accused allegedly conspired to defraud the bank by illegally availing loans under false pretenses.
Ms. Nasreen Taj, who had no independent income, was found to have colluded with her husband Asadullah Khan and others to fraudulently secure a Temporary Overdraft (TOD) facility worth ₹1.2 crore, and additional farm loans of ₹55 lakh. Instead of utilizing the farm loan for agriculture, as mandated, the funds were misused to repay the TOD, thereby violating the loan terms.
Following the investigation, CBI filed a chargesheet on October 12, 2010, naming Taj as one of the main conspirators. However, she failed to respond to court summons and had remained untraceable since 2019, prompting multiple non-bailable warrants and, eventually, a proclamation and property attachment order by the Bengaluru Special Court in 2021.
Nasreen Taj had gone to great lengths to avoid detection—cutting off ties with her family, changing residences frequently, adopting a new identity as “Ms. Salma,” and keeping minimal contact with neighbors and employers.
Utilizing a combination of digital footprint analysis and on-ground investigation, CBI successfully located her in Bengaluru. She was arrested on July 19, 2025, and presented before the Competent Court, which remanded her to judicial custody.
The arrest underscores the CBI’s enhanced capabilities in tracking fugitives by leveraging modern identity-tracking systems along with traditional policing methods. Nasreen Taj is now facing trial for her alleged role in one of the significant bank frauds of the past decade.
