The crime branch has arrested a man who would cheat businessmen dealing in gold loans by submitting fake jewellery and availing of loans worth lakhs.
The crime branch has arrested a man who would cheat businessmen dealing in gold loans by submitting fake jewellery and availing of loans worth lakhs. The accused, a repeat offender, had conned over 25 businessmen and made away with at least a lakh from each of them.
The incident came to light after a Malad resident, businessman Suresh Jain (45) approached the police about a man who had availed of a loan of '60,000 against gold jewellery and then disappeared. Mr Jain alleged that the accused, who identified himself as Kundan Parihar (24), had approached him and mortgaged gold jewellery. While initially he would regularly visit his office and also enquire about the jewellery and that he would repay the amount soon, his victims started becoming infrequent and then stopped completely.
Sources reveal that Mr Jain, suspecting something was amiss, did a thorough check of the jewellery submitted by Parihar and found that the jewellery was not made of gold but was copper with a thin gold coating which wore off when checked. Mr Jain then approached the police station and Crime branch took over the investigation,”said a crime branch officer.
On April 24, the police received a tip off that Parihar was in Nalasopara and, with the help of local the police, arrested him. A preliminary probe has revealed that Parihar had targeted over 25 businessmen in the city and cheated them of lakhs of rupees. The police also said that Parihar was a repeat offender who had been lodged in Thane Jail and was out on bail. “It was in jail that he and another inmate hatched the plan. Once they were out on bail, they started the targeting small and medium sized businessmen,” said an officer.
The police is still looking for the accomplice and has booked Parihar under various sections of the IPC and placed him under custody.
