In a significant financial fraud case, police in Baidyanathpur, Odisha’s Ganjam district, arrested three men on Thursday for cheating six banks out of nearly Rs24 lakh by pledging fake gold ornaments.
The arrested accused have been identified as Abhinav Srivastava of Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh), Biswajit Kar of Sahadevkhunta (Balasore), and Sheikh Manjur Elahi. Police seized imitation gold bangles, earrings, and coated silver items from their possession.
According to the complaint, P. Purushottam of Hinjilicut–Badakhande had previously worked in a prawn factory in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, where he met the accused. About 18 months ago, they convinced him to help secure bank loans by pledging “old gold jewellery,” claiming they would use the funds to establish a prawn business.
Trusting their plan, Purushottam opened multiple bank accounts under his name and his relatives’ names at branches in Berhampur, Hinjilicut, and Mandia Palli. He mortgaged the jewellery provided by the accused and secured loans exceeding Rs20 lakh, which he handed over to them.
The fraud surfaced when Purushottam attempted to sell some of the bangles and discovered that they were fake, containing only a thin gold-plated coating. He immediately filed a complaint, following which police crafted a strategy and instructed him to call the accused back to Berhampur. When the trio arrived, they were trapped and arrested.
Police said an investigation is underway to uncover the full network behind the gold loan racket.
