Jammu, March 8, 2025: The Crime Branch (CB) has registered a case against 15 individuals, including two gold appraisers, in connection with a scam involving fraudulent loans obtained from Canara Bank. The accused allegedly secured loans by pledging spurious and impure gold items, whose actual weight was significantly less than what was initially declared, and failed to repay the EMIs.
The case was initiated after the Regional Manager of Canara Bank, Jammu, filed two written complaints with the Crime Branch. The accused include Rajnesh Thapa, Munish Thapa, Deepak Kumar, Sumit Singh, Madhu Singh, Jyoti Devi, Bandana Devi, Rahat Iqbal Goni, Ayush Singh, Veena Kumari, Navdeep Sharma, Amit Mahajan, Pooja Chouhan, Kewal Krishan (Gold Valuer, M/S Verma Ornaments), and Deepak Dhallam (Gold Valuer, M/S Deepak Jewellers).
According to the complaints, the accused approached the Gangyal Branch of Canara Bank for Overdraft (OD) and Term Loan facilities, pledging gold ornaments as security. The gold items were appraised by the accused gold valuers, Kewal Krishan and Deepak Dhallam, who issued certificates certifying the authenticity and weight of the gold, which were later found to be false. Based on these certificates, the bank sanctioned loans totaling approximately Rs. 40 Lakhs.
However, when the bank conducted a reappraisal of the gold items, it was discovered that the gold was significantly less than what had been pledged. The accused had fraudulently obtained loans by submitting spurious gold, leading to a breach of financial discipline. Despite several requests from the bank to repay the loans, the accused failed to do so.
Senior Superintendent of Police Crime, Jammu, Benam Tosh, confirmed the registration of an FIR (No. 13/2025) and an in-depth investigation into the case, as the initial probe revealed the commission of a cognizable offence.
