PANJIM: Investigations into a house breaking theft led to the discovery that a private bank was offering loans against gold without authenticating its details or the original owner of the property.
Panjim police on Wednesday arrested one Jaya Martin Fernandes for breaking into the house of her neighbour Balraj Nandrekar and stealing gold worth Rs 45,000.
Panjim PI Siddhant Shirodkar said the bank’s branch manager has been summoned for questioning on Friday for allegedly accepting the stolen ornaments as security for a loan. The cops have managed to recover the property to the tune of Rs 43,000 from the bank.
“The bank did not insist on the purchase receipts of the gold ornaments. It accepted the gold without any documents to verify the original owner. This allowed the accused woman to take a loan against the gold without any hassle,” an officer said. The theft investigation will expand to this aspect.
According to the complaint, Nandrekar’s wife had requested Fernandes to look after her house while she was away with her infant, for a short period. “The victim had not locked the house reposing faith in her neighbour. On her return, she found the house was ransacked and jewellery stolen from the cupboard,” Shirodkar said.
The police then rounded up suspects including Fernandes, who confessed to the crime. She was later arrested.
