Man booked for pledging fake gold ornaments

Udupi: Padubidri police have booked a man for allegedly cheating a bank by pledging fake gold ornaments and availing a loan of close to Rs 3.5 lakh. A case of alleged gold loan fraud has been registered against Rajeev Kalayathinalkuzhiyil Kuttappan. According to the complaint filed by Pradeep Kumar, 31, branch head of a private sector bank at Padubidri, the accused had availed a gold loan of appoximately Rs 3.5 lakh on Sept 21, 2022, under the LNAPG scheme by pledging gold ornaments weighing 103.7g in a joint loan account.Police said suspicion arose after cases were reportedly registered against the accused at different banks for obtaining loans by pledging fake ornaments. Following this, the gold ornaments pledged at the Bank were re-examined on Dec 3, 2025, by jewellery evaluators. The evaluators reportedly found that the pledged ornaments were fake. Later, the bank secured an expert report and lodged the complaint. Based on the complaint, police have registered a case and further investigation is on.