A shocking incident has come to light from the State Bank of India (SBI) in Vidisha. An SBI employee, who was under investigation in connection with a ₹6 crore gold loan fraud, allegedly attempted suicide. He shot himself with a pellet gun at his farmhouse in Khamkheda on Saturday. In critical condition, he was taken to the district hospital and later to the medical college, where he was referred to Bhopal after initial treatment.
According to reports, the name of employee is Manoj Soni. Preliminary information indicates that one of the pellets struck near his heart, leaving him in critical condition. He has been referred to Bhopal for further treatment.
Upon receiving information about the incident, police arrived at the scene and investigation is ongoing. Did Employee attempt suicide due to ongoing gold loan fraud investigation? For this first let’s know about the fraud.
Golu Sahu, a resident of Tilakheri in the district, and several others filed a complaint of gold loan fraud at an SBI branch against Abhiraj Sharma, Bhanu Sharma, and Ajay Vishwakarma. Following the complaint, an investigation was launched, and the bank’s internal audit revealed numerous irregularities.
The investigation revealed allegations that gold loans were sanctioned in the names of other people using fake gold as collateral, and that crores of rupees were withdrawn. A preliminary investigation has revealed suspicious loans totaling over Rs 3 crore in the names of approximately 80 people.
The case was handed over to CBI and the CBI arrived in Vidisha and inspected several shops, especially bullion shops. They took their documents with them for examination. On Wednesday, they sealed MP Jewellers, located in the city’s Swarnkar Colony.
MP Jewellers is associated with Manoj Soni’s family. Since then, his name has also been mentioned as part of the investigation. As per the rules, before giving gold loan, the bank gets the purity of gold checked by authorized jewellers. In Vidisha SBI branch, this responsibility was given to MP Jewellers, a shop owned by Manoj Soni’s relatives. It is alleged that the shop used to prepare fake reports by declaring fake or low carat gold as 22 carat. On the basis of this report, gold loans worth crores of rupees were sanctioned by the bank.
When a customer applies for a gold loan, the bank first calls a gold appraiser. The appraiser checks the purity and quality of the gold and submits a valuation certificate to the bank. Based on this certificate, the bank decides the loan amount and sanctions the loan. If the appraiser submits a fake or incorrect certificate and the pledged gold is not genuine, the bank may give a loan against fake gold, which can lead to a fraud.
Two days ago, the CBI exposed this fraud and raided MP Jewellers and sealed the shop. An examination of bank records revealed that gold loans worth more than ₹4 crore had been approved based on this shop’s reports over the past two years. It is reported that the CBI was preparing to question Manoj Soni. He was under mental stress due to the fear of arrest and social stigma.
Currently, Manoj Soni is battling between life and death. Investigating agencies believe that his regaining consciousness could lead to significant revelations related to this multi-crore gold loan scam.
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