In a real-life case echoing the plot of the thriller Lucky Baskhar, a bank employee in Davanagere, Karnataka, was arrested for orchestrating a massive gold loan fraud involving real and counterfeit gold worth several crores.
The accused, T P Sanjay (33), a gold loan officer at Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) since October last year, allegedly misappropriated 3.6 kg of pledged gold worth Rs1.8 crore from the bank’s vault. He then used the stolen gold to secure loans from Federal Bank, Fed Bank, and Manappuram Gold Loan Finance in Davanagere.
But the fraud didn’t stop there.
Sanjay also pledged 2.7 kg of counterfeit gold ornaments using names of his family members and associates to obtain an additional Rs1.5 crore in loans from CSB itself. Most of the funds were reportedly blown on online gambling and personal expenses, according to police.
A complaint was filed by the CSB branch manager at KTJ Nagar police station, triggering an investigation that led to Sanjay’s arrest and recovery of the stolen gold.
Superintendent of Police Uma Prashanth said Sanjay’s job involved verifying gold collateral and maintaining inventory records. “He exploited his role to gradually remove gold from the vault without raising suspicion,” she said.
The fraud unraveled when an internal audit last month revealed discrepancies in pledged jewellery. A review of CCTV footage confirmed suspicious activity, prompting the bank to approach police.
A graduate in BCA, Sanjay had previous experience working with private finance firms in gold loan departments. Police noted that he was once praised for efficiently handling high volumes of jewellery and maintained a demeanor that avoided suspicion.
Police also revealed that Sanjay confessed to being inspired by the character Baskhar Kumar, played by Dulquer Salmaan in the film Lucky Baskhar, which tells the story of a low-level bank employee whose descent into illegal investment schemes destroys his life.
