Nagpur: Three members of a family have been booked for allegedly defrauding Shikshak Sahakari Bank’s Devnagar branch of ₹8.14 lakh by pledging fake gold jewellery. One of the accused, Anil Ramchandra Urkude (59), a certified gold appraiser, had previously worked with another bank in a similar role.
According to Dhantoli police, Anil Urkude, along with Prashant Ramchandra Urkude (51) and Vaishali Prashant Urkude (41), residents of Lalganj, Raut Chowk, secured a loan between March 2017 and July 2018 by pledging counterfeit gold. As a gold appraiser, Anil falsely certified the jewelry as genuine, allowing the loan to be approved.
The fraud came to light when the loan remained unpaid, prompting the bank to verify the pledged gold, which was later confirmed as fake. Following a complaint by bank manager Nitin Samarth Singh Mohite (52), a case of fraud was registered at Dhantoli police station.