Crime Branch booked 15 accused in bank loan scam

Accused got huge loans from against security of spurious/impure Gold items of weight less than purported figures and did not repay the EMIs

 Jammu, March 8 : Crime Branch ( CB) has booked fifteen (15) accused including two Gold appraisers in bank loan scam in which accused got huge loans from Canara Bank against security of spurious/impure Gold items of weight less than purported figures and did not repay the EMIs.                                       

Regional Manager, Canara Bank, Jammu filed two written complaints with CB against : 1. Rajnesh Thapa S/o Rashpal Chand R/o Bari Brahmana, Samba, 2. Munish Thapa S/o Kuldeep Kumar Thapa, R/o Kartholi, Jammu, 3. Deepak Kumar S/o Bharat Ram, R/o Bari Brahmana, Samba, 4. Sumit Singh S/o Raj Kumar  Chouhan R/o Nanak Nagar, Jammu, 5. Madhu Singh W/o Sumit Singh R/o Nanak Nagar, Jammu, 6. Jyoti Devi W/o Kewal Krishan R/o Nanak Nagar, Jammu, 7. Bandana Devi D/o Subash Chander R/o Pekhari, District Samba, 8. Rahat Iqbal Goni S/o Javed Iqbal Goni R/o Bhaderwah, District Doda, 9. Ayush Singh S/o Amit Singh R/o Nanak Nagar Jammu, 10. Veena Kumari W/o Brij Mohan Sharma R/o Narwal Bala,  Jammu, 11. Navdeep Sharma S/o Brij Mohan Sharma R/o Narwal Bala, Jammu, 12. Amit Mahajan S/o Vijay Kumar Mahajan R/o Nanak Nagar,  Jammu and 13. Pooja Chouhan W/o Amit Singh R/o Nanak Nagar, Jammu 14. Kewal Krishan (Prop. M/S Verma Ornaments) S/o Mulkh Raj, Narwal Bala, Jammu (Gold Valuer) and 15. Deepak Dhallam (Prop. M/S Deepak Jewellers) S/o Romesh Chander R/o Bishnah (Gold Valuer).

It was alleged in the complaints that the above mentioned persons on different dates approached the Canara Bank, Gangyal Branch for grant of OD Limit and Term Loan facilities against the deposit of the Gold which was a scheme prevalent and floated by the Bank for giving benefits to the various customers having the Gold items and availed the loan against the security of the said Gold items.

   The accused persons offered to pledge different Gold ornaments as security for the repayment of their respective loans amounting to the tune of Rs.40 Lakhs (approx.) for Canara Bank, Branch Gangyal which were proposed to be sanctioned to the said accused persons. On the receipt of the said Gold items from the accused M/S Verma Ornaments, Gold Valuer who was an approved valuer (Gold Appraiser) of the bank for assessing the Gold items, was called in the office of the complainant at Canara Bank, Gangyal Branch on different dates to assess the weight of the said gold items to verify the genuineness and purity of the same. The accused M/S Verma Ornaments Prop. Kewal Krishan on different dates issued certificates certifying the gross and net weight of the gold items in the shape of gold ornaments submitted by the accused persons as security for their respective loan accounts. The said certificates were issued under his stamp in presence of the accused persons. On the strength of the said certificates, the Canara Bank at Gangyal Branch had processed the cases and sanctioned loan to the accused persons as per the sanctioned terms and the amount was also disbursed and credited in the accounts of accused persons on different dates which was to be repaid along with interest.        The accused persons failed to maintain the financial discipline and could not service the EMIs in time and defaulted in making the payment. Subsequently, several requests were made by the complainant Bank through its Manager Gangyal Branch to make the payment but the accused persons did not make the payment.

 It is a routine of the Bank to get the Gold verified (Reappraised) on quarterly basis and in this regard, the said branch of Canara Bank got the Gold items verified including the Gold items of all the accused persons, but to the surprise of the complainant Bank, it was found that the net weight of the Gold items submitted by the accused persons were way less than the figures given by the accused. It appeared that the Kewal Krishan (Gold Valuer) (Prop. M/S Verma Ornaments) S/o Mulkh Raj, near PNB Narwal Bala, Jammu and  Deepak Dhallam (Prop. M/S Deepak Jewellers) S/o Romesh Chander R/o H.No.103, W.No.10 Bishnah (Gold Valuer) Gold Valuers in connivance with the accused persons had hatched the criminal conspiracy to commit fraud by getting the credit facilities in the form of Term Loan and OD Limit from the Canara Bank by depositing the spurious/impure Gold items which had been verified as pure Gold items by the said Gold Valuers.

Senior Superintendent of Police Crime Jammu Benam Tosh confirmed confirmed that an FIR No. 13/2025 has been registered and indepth investigation started as the contents of the complaints and preliminary verification report prima-facie revealed commission of cognizable offence.