Shirva (Udupi): The Shirva police have arrested five individuals for allegedly defrauding banks by pledging fake gold ornaments as genuine collateral to obtain loans.
The accused have been identified as:
Puneet Anand Kotyan (Ambalpady Kappettu)
Sudeep (Lakshminagar, Tenkanidiyur)
Ranjan Kumar (Enagudde, Katapady)
Sarvajeeth H (Alangara, Perdur)
Rajesh Dileep Patil (Rahatan, Srinagar, Pune, Maharashtra)
Police seized Rs4.3 lakh in cash, a laser machine, and a computer allegedly used to create fake hallmark stamps. This comes amid a rise in cases of loan fraud using imitation gold in Udupi district.
Following complaints from the public, police formed three special teams under the supervision of Kapu Circle Inspector Ajmath Ali, successfully tracing the accused across Bengaluru, Goa, Mumbai, and Delhi.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to pledging counterfeit gold ornaments in several banks in Brahmavar, Hiriyadka, and Udupi town to fraudulently secure loans. Four cases have been registered at Shirva Police Station, based on a complaint by the Manager of Karnataka Bank, Kattingeri Branch.
All five accused were produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Dr. Harsha Priyavanda, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Karkala Sub-Division, and Ajmath Ali, Kapu Circle Inspector. The team was led by PSI Manjunath Marabath, PSI Lohith Kumar C.S., PSI Anil Kumar T. Nayak, and ASI Sridhar K.J., supported by personnel Kishore, Manjunath, Arun, Siddaraya, Nagaraj, and CHC Nagaraj of Padubidri Station.
