2 mortgage imitation jewellery and secure Rs 28 lakh loans from Thane credit society; booked

Thane, Oct 2 (PTI) Police have filed a case against two persons, including a woman, for allegedly cheating a co-operative credit society of Rs 28.30 lakh by mortgaging imitation jewellery to secure loans over a three-month period in Bhiwandi town of Thane district, an official said on Thursday.

The case was registered on Wednesday under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 318(4) (cheating) and 3(5) (common intention) based on a complaint filed by an official of the co-operative credit society located in the Kalher area of Bhiwandi, the Narpoli Police Station official said.

The crime took place between July and September 2025. During this period, the accused, identified as Ritu Sandeep Singh (28) and Rajan Shukla (32), both local residents, mortgaged imitation ornaments posing as genuine gold jewellery and obtained loans amounting to Rs 28,30,000 from the society, he said.

The fraud came to light when the credit society verified the pledged ornaments and discovered they were fake, according to the official.

"After realising they had been duped, the society approached us with a formal complaint, leading to the registration of the FIR," the police official said.

An investigation was underway and efforts were on to trace the accused and recover the cheated amount, he added. PTI COR RSY