Karepalli police in Khammam arrest gang for defrauding banks, finance firms with fake gold

Khammam district police busted a gang that manufactured fake gold jewellery, pledged it at banks and finance firms, and defrauded a Hyderabad gold company. Two accused were arrested, while one remains absconding.

Khammam: A gang involved in defrauding banks, finance companies and gold-buying firms by manufacturing fake gold jewellery was busted by Karepalli police in the district.

Karepalli Inspector of Police Sagar informed that the operation was carried out under the supervision of Karepalli Sub-Inspector (SI) Gopi. Two accused, Guguloth Sunil Kumar and Mundada Ramchander of Karepalli were arrested while another accused Daravath Rakesh was absconding, he said.

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Investigations revealed that the accused manufactured jewellery using copper and applied a gold plating to make it resemble genuine gold. They subsequently pledged these counterfeit items at various banks and finance companies to secure loans and also defrauded private gold-buying firms to earn money illegally.

In one instance, the gang, through Ramchander’s agent, Sunil pledged 52 grams of fake gold at Muthoot Finance in Yellandu and obtained a loan of Rs 3.90 lakh. Later, devising a plan to redeem the pledged item, they contacted ‘Mana Gold Company’ in Hyderabad; Sunil received Rs 5.80 lakh from the company and absconded with the money.

A case was registered based on the complaint by the company, which conducted an investigation and arrested the accused. Police seized a car purchased with proceeds from the crime along with Rs 15,000 in cash and a mobile phone used in the offence from the arrested accused.

The investigation into the involvement of other individuals in this case is ongoing. The officials commended the investigating officer, SI Gopi and Kamepalli SI Srikanth for nabbing the accused.