A day after five members of a gang were arrested for duping banks of lakhs by mortgaging fake gold to avail loan, it has come to light that Sukhwinder Singh alias Dimple, the arrested kingpin of the gang, used to make fake gold at the workshop of his store, Neelmani Jewellers, at Chandigarh Road.
“Sukhwinder mixed 3% of gold with brass and other metals and used to send his accomplices to the banks to avail gold loan. The accused confessed that he had availed around 30 loans from banks this way,” said sub-inspector (SI) Randhir Singh, who is investigating the case.
Sukhwinder, 46, a resident of Jamalpur HIG flats, was arrested along with Deepak Kumar of New Shivpuri; Paramjit Singh of Bindra Colony; Paramjit’s wife Lata and Ajay Kumar of Nanak Nagar in Karabara on Thursday.
Those yet to be arrested are Kulwinder Singh of Haibowal; Guddu of Bindra Colony; Jain of Shivpuri and another accused, who is unidentified.
Police produced Sukhwinder and Ajay before the court on Friday and got their remand extended by two days, while Deepak, Paramjit and Lata were sent to judicial custody.
The police have contacted the banks concerned to produce record of loan and the gold the accused have mortgaged to avail loan.
{{/usCountry}}The police have contacted the banks concerned to produce record of loan and the gold the accused have mortgaged to avail loan.
{{/usCountry}}“Sukhwinder was aware that for a loan up to ₹2 lakhs, the banks don’t check the gold, but consulted some jeweller for formality. He used to reach the branch of the same bank prior or after his accomplices. The bank employees used to request him to verify if the gold is pure, and he used to do so,” said the SI.
The SI said Ajay helped Sukhwinder in identifying the people to whom they could send to banks to avail gold loan. The accused used to give ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 to people after having the lion’s share in the amount,” he said.
An FIR under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the accused at the Division Number 7 police station.
The SI added that the police have been probing to know the past criminal record of the accused. The accused had lodged a case of robbery around a decade ago, but himself had come under the scanner for concocting a story. The police have been probing that case as well.