Loan on fake gold: HC refuses pre-arrest bail to financial consultant

Bombay high court denies pre-arrest bail to financial consultant Rajesh Dahanukar, booked for duping a bank of ₹53 lakhs by pledging fake gold for loans.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court recently refused pre-arrest bail to Rajesh Dahanukar, a financial consultant booked for duping a bank to the tune of ₹53 lakhs by pledging fake gold to avail loans.

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A single judge bench of justice NJ Jamadar observed that the material on record indicated that he was involved in the fraud from the beginning, and custodial interrogation was necessary to unravel the entire episode and the money trail.

The Malad police have registered an FIR in connection with the alleged fraud based on a complaint lodged by Savio Montero, manager, Model Co-operative Bank of Malad branch.

According to Montero, the episode started after one Sapna Bhatt, a co-accused in the case, was appointed as gold valuer to ascertain the purity of the gold sought to be pledged with the bank for availing loans and the approximate value of the gold to determine the amount.

In his complaint, Montero said between April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022, six customers had availed gold loans worth ₹53.03 lakh. A few of the accounts became non-performing assets, and to invoke the pledge and sell the security, the bank called the customers and Bhatt, but none of them turned up.

When the gold pledged by the customers was verified by another valuer, the jewellery turned out to be fake.

Eventually, Sapana Bhatt and the six customers – Sonal Shringare, Mohammad Saifi, and Sabina Mohd. Saifi was arrested. Police probe revealed that all six customers had approached the bank through Dahanukar.

Apprehending arrest, Dahanukar moved to the sessions court first and then to the high court. Before going to the high court, he contended that there was no material to connect him to the crime except that he had referred the customers to the bank. He also claimed that he was not the beneficiary of the crime.

Justice Jamadar, however, noticed that the role played by the consultant was not limited to introducing the customers to the bank but also in inducing Bhatt to get herself empanelled as a valuer, furnish fudged certificates of valuation, make available the articles which were to be pledged to avail the gold loans.

The court also noticed two other aspects of significance - the statement of one of the co-accused revealed that upon disbursal of the loan raised by pledging the gold loan, a part of the money was paid to an associate of the consultant and the CDR indicated that he had telephonic conversations with the accused - customers on numerous occasions, during the relevant period.