Andhra Pradesh: Loan against mortgaging fake gold lands three in jail

VIJAYAWADA: The police arrested three people for allegedly mortgaging fake gold and obtaining loan from Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank.
The accused pledged alleged fake gold ornaments with Chebrolu branch of the bank in Guntur district. The prime accused, Samoju Jayakrishna, has been working as a gold appraiser in the bank for seven years, police said.
Tenali DSP Shravanthi Roy said M Satish, manager of Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank, lodged a complaint with the police on June 22 that while re-appraising gold mortgaged at the different branches of the bank, he reached Chebrolu branch on June 18.
While checking the gold, he was shocked to see fake gold ornaments in 24 accounts. He immediately lodged a complaint with the Chebrolu police suspecting Samoju Jaya Krishna (22), Samoju Babu Rao (47), and Samoju Beji Surya Durga Prasad (24) of the same village.
The police arrested the suspects on Monday and started an investigation. It was revealed that Krishna was working as a gold appraiser in the branch for the past seven years. With the idea of earning money easy and fast, he hatched a plan to replace the gold that was mortgaged by customers with rolled gold ornament that he bought from a local fancy store in Guntur.