Mohan Kuthar

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jan 21: With gold prices touching record highs, an organised group has reportedly been cheating cooperative societies and banks by pledging gold jewellery embedded with fake stones to obtain higher loan amounts. This racket has come to light in and around Mangaluru, including areas such as Thokkottu, Ullal and Mudipu.

It has been alleged that when gold ornaments are pledged, cooperative societies generally do not have a system in place to separate and weigh the stones fixed in the jewellery. Exploiting this loophole, fraudsters are reportedly manufacturing bangles and other ornaments using artificially heavy fake stones made through chemical processes and pledging them as gold jewellery. As a result, the overall weight of the ornament appears higher, enabling them to easily secure loans far exceeding the actual value of the gold.

In a recently detected case, a gold bangle containing 50 grams of gold was shown to have a total weight of 186.3 grams. Shockingly, the weight of a single stone embedded in the bangle alone was found to be 4.1 grams. Allegations have surfaced that by artificially increasing the weight of jewellery using such fake stones, the accused are obtaining loans worth lakhs of rupees from cooperative societies.

There is growing suspicion that this large-scale scam is not confined to the district alone and may have spread to neighbouring districts as well. Due to a lack of adequate awareness and detection mechanisms, several cooperative societies and bank staff are reportedly left anxious, while the fraudulent group continues to remain active by moving from one bank or society to another and pledging such jewellery.

In view of the seriousness of the issue, there is increasing public demand for immediate intervention by awareness squads, the police department and supervisory authorities. Citizens have urged strict measures for identifying fake stones, thorough verification of pledged gold, and a comprehensive investigation to expose and dismantle this organised network.