Alappuzha: Four people were arrested by Cherthala police for pawning imitation gold at various financial institutions and swindling around Rs 1 crore in the process. The accused are Siyad (32) of Panavally, Niyaz (32) and Riyas (45) of Arookutty, and Arumugham of Coimbatore.
Siyad and Niyaz used to get imitation bangles made from Arumugham, which they would then pawn at different financial institutions. The bangles, weighing over 10 grams, were made using only 1.5 - 2.5 grams of gold. Over 250 such bangles were made.
The bangles were pawned for huge amounts through friends who needed the money. A small portion of the pawned amount would be given to the friends as a fee for their part in the scheme and the rest of it was shared by the four. This has been going on for the past one year.
The deception came to light when one of the financial institutions where the gold was pawned decided to put it up for auction after no move was made to take back the gold. A probe is underway to check if the siphoned money was being used for anti-social activities of any kind.
Riyas was arrested on Thursday, while the others were nabbed on Friday. The team that made the arrest was led by Deputy Police Superintendent S Shaji with Cherthala Police Station ISHO Pryju G; Sub Inspectors Anil Kumar K P, Mahesh R L, Biju; and Senior Civil Police Officers Satheesh K P, Girish, Arun Kumar, Ajay, and Dhanraj D Panicker as members.
