Team Goemkarponn
VASCO: In a dramatic incident, a group of women from Sada on Wednesday allegedly traced an absconding jeweller and brought him to the Vasco Police Station, accusing him of cheating them of gold ornaments worth several lakhs through an alleged gold loan scam.
The women alleged that jeweller Bhimappa Chalvadi collected their gold ornaments after promising loans at a concessional interest rate of 0.65 per cent, claiming he had introduced a banking-style loan scheme. Trusting his assurances, several women pledged their jewellery and availed of loans.
However, the victims alleged that despite repaying the loan amounts, the jeweller failed to return their pledged gold ornaments.
According to the women, two FIRs have already been registered against the accused at the Mormugao Police Station. They claimed that despite the cases being registered, no concrete action had been taken, with police informing them that the accused was absconding.
Frustrated over the alleged lack of progress, the women said they decided to search for the jeweller themselves. After locating him on Wednesday, they allegedly intercepted him and took him to the Vasco Police Station, demanding immediate police action and recovery of their ornaments.
The victims further alleged that the jeweller repeatedly claimed he had “police in his pocket” and that no action would be taken against him. They said these claims left them feeling helpless and forced them to take matters into their own hands.
They also alleged that while their ornaments remain unrecovered, the accused has acquired expensive properties, including two new bungalows. According to the victims, they now believe the low-interest loan scheme was used to gain people’s confidence before allegedly withholding their jewellery.
The women have appealed to the police to conduct a thorough investigation, recover the pledged gold ornaments, and take strict legal action against those responsible. They said several families continue to face severe financial hardship as jewellery accumulated over many years remains unrecovered.
