Uttar Pradesh: In yet another incident of fraud in Uttar Pradesh, a bank manager has been booked for allegedly replacing gold ornaments with fake jewellery. According to reports, the manager replaced the 21-karat gold ornaments that were pledged as security by a borrower to obtain a gold loan of over Rs 2 lakh.
The branch manager has been identified as Devesh Pant who was posted at the Axis Bank in Pilibhit. He was booked on the complaint of one Prashant Rai.
What did the complainant say?
According to sources, the complainant claimed that the purity of the gold ornaments was duly tested by the bank, but then the accused bank manager later labelled the ornaments as 'artificial'.
"On August 6, 2022, I obtained a loan of Rs 2,35,500 by depositing 43.3 gm of gold ornaments as collateral. The bank charged Rs 2,499 fee for testing the purity of the ornaments, processing and insurance. The purity of the gold was found to be of 21 karat," Rai stated in his complaint.
ALSO READ: West Bengal: Enforcement Directorate arrests Kolkata-based businessman for duping SBI of Rs 95 crore
Bank manager booked under relevant IPC sections
The station house officer (SHO) of Sungarhi police station said that the accused bank manager has been booked under sections 420 (cheating with dishonesty), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the complaint filed by the victim.
"On February 27, this year when I visited the bank to check my savings account, I was abused by the branch manager, saying that the gold ornaments were artificial," Rai added. In his complaint, he further mentioned he also alleged that the manager also threatened him of dire consequences if he (Rai) did not return the gold loan amount immediately.
(With IANS inputs)
