PNB manager held in Rs 6.5 crore gold loan scam case
Jaipur, Feb 6 (IANS) Rajasthan Police have arrested Amit Jangid, the main accused in the Rs 6.50 crore gold loan scam at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) Nawalgarh branch in Jhunjhunu district. Jangid, who was serving as the bank manager at the time of the fraud, was apprehended near Mathura railway station in Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, the accused also attempted to flee from custody, but the police team chased and detained him before he could escape.
The case came to light on February 3, following which an FIR was registered against Amit Jangid, another official Santosh Kumar Saini, and Deputy Manager Anantprakash Chaudhary. Police have also arrested Santosh Saini. Preliminary investigations indicate that the fraud was executed through the collusion of Jangid and Saini. After the scam surfaced, Amit Jangid went absconding.
On February 5, his wife filed a missing person report, stating that he had disappeared after the incident.
Current branch manager Mukesh Sihag stated in his complaint that gold pledged against loans was stored in the bank’s gold safe.
On January 28, during the process of handing over charge of the gold strong room to Deputy Manager Seema Mahla, discrepancies were detected.
Earlier, the two keys to the strong room were held by then manager Amit Jangid and Deputy Manager Anantprakash Chaudhary.
During the verification process, bank officials discovered tampering with gold packets, prompting an internal investigation.
The probe revealed that real gold jewellery from 73 packets had been replaced with fake ornaments. In addition, the weight of jewellery in three packets was found to be significantly less.
According to the bank’s assessment, around 4.198 kilograms of gold jewellery, valued at approximately Rs 6.50 crore, was missing from the strong room.
Police are continuing the investigation to determine the exact role of each accused and to trace the missing gold.
--IANS
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