Patna, Sep 17 (IANS): A man allegedly duped 15 people of Motha village in Bihar's Rohtas district, police said on Tuesday.

The accused identified as Shiv Kumar Shah and his family members are on the run, the police said.

Karakat Station House Officer (SHO) Phool Dev Choudhary said 15 FIRs have been registered against Shiv Kumar Shah, and the district police are actively working to apprehend him.

Shah, also a resident of the Motha village, approached his neighbours to seek loans from microfinance companies for which he would give them a commission and repay the installments to the bank on time.

Innocent villagers fell into his trap and applied for Rs 40,000 to 50,000 loans, and in turn, he gave them commissions ranging from Rs 5,000 to 10,000. However, he did not pay loan installments to the bank.

In the complaint, the villagers said that they opened bank accounts and applied for loans from microfinance companies, with each loan amounting to around Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.

The scam came to light when the villagers started receiving notices from the banks as installments were not paid.

According to Phool Dev Choudhary, the SHO of Karakat, Shah had given commissions ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to the bank account holders.

"After the loans were approved, the villagers withdrew the money and allegedly handed it over to Shah. The lack of concrete proof due to the cash transactions poses a challenge in building a strong case," he said.

Choudhary mentioned that the villagers appear to be innocent people who fell under the influence of the accused.

"If the villagers had any records of digital transactions made to the accused, it would greatly aid in proving the fraud. Despite the current limitations in evidence, the police are actively working to apprehend Shah," Choudhary said.