A gang of cheats, who had duped at least six branches of Muthoot Finance, were finally stopped in their tracks by Delhi Police. Two members of this gang were arrested by the staff of lajpat Nagar police station. The gang had a typical modus operandi as they used to enter Muthoot branches as loan seekers against gold. They carried forged ID cards and address proof. Investigations have found that they sneaked in other metals with the gold to increase the weight of bullion. Police said four more members, including two women of the gang, have been identified and a hunt was on to nab them.
According to police, the fraud was reported at various branches of Muthoot Finance in Delhi in the past few months. “During investigation, it was found that a gang, that included a woman, was involved in conning the finance company. The woman masqueraded as the decoy loan seeker and provided bogus identify proof to take loans against gold jewellery,” a police official involved in the investigations said, adding, “The staff of various police stations and units were tasked to nab the culprits.”
On Saturday, two men identified as Sunil Kumar (40) and Virender (40) approached Muthoot Finance lajpat Nagar branch along with forged documents to take a loan. They were carrying two gold bangles and showed interest in taking loan against the bangles. The manager, Sant lal, who was already on alert found something amiss as their papers and purity of gold were forged and tampered with.
Sant lal immediately raised an alarm and called up police. A team led by an inspector from lajpat Nagar police station reached the spot and nabbed the accused. Both the accused first tried to misguide police but soon broke down and confessed to the crime. The documents, which they had shown to take the loan, were found to be forged and the gold was impure.
Sunil and Virender, both residents of West Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, told police that they worked on the instructions of a gang member and were paid Rs2,000 for each mission. “During this period, they targeted at least six branches of Muthoot Finance, including Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar and Dwarka,” said the officer. Police said that that they have identified four persons who were running the racket for several months. The accused have also targeted and duped the finance company in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.