22 April,2024 11:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Representative image
Malad Police have filed an FIR against six persons who allegedly defrauded a bank by securing a loan amounting to nearly Rs 39 lakhs using counterfeit gold as collateral. The case was registered based on the complaint filed by the bank's manager. The accused in the case were identified as Sapna Bhatt (Gold evaluator), Shami Khatri, Jayendra Jadhav, Rafat Khatri, Yash Parekh and Jalpaben Parekh.
Police sources said that the accused persons had fraudulently obtained loans totalling Rs 38.80 Lakhs and have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including cheating and conspiracy.
The bank manager of Modal Bank told the police in his statement that they granted loans amounting to Rs 69.86 lakhs to the accused persons between 2020 and 2022. Bhatt, one of the accused, served as the bank's valuator and based on her gold valuation certificate, the loans were extended to five persons. By 2023, the borrowers had repaid approximately Rs 31 lakhs of the loan and subsequently ceased further payments and the outstanding dues were Rs 38.80 lakhs.
The bank then convened a meeting in January 2023 and subsequently decided to recover the outstanding amount by selling the gold used as collateral. However, during the re-evaluation, they discovered that the pledged gold was fake and a valuator confirmed it.
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Despite the bank issuing notices to all the borrowers, including Bhatt, there was no response. Suspecting fraudulent activities, the manager reached out to the Malad Police, filing a written complaint. Subsequently, the police registered a case against the accused.
"We have registered a case under sections 120(B) (facilitating crime), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by banker), 420 (cheating), 463 (forgery), 464 (making false document), and 465 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code. No arrests have been made yet as the investigation is underway," said an officer from Malad police station.
