Multi-crore gold scam

Women plead with Shivakumar to help them recover their gold ornaments

Bengaluru: A group of women and their family members from Mysuru, who lost their gold ornaments in the multi-crore gold fraud case, met Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar at his residence in Sadashivanagar yesterday and appealed to him to expedite the investigation and help them recover their ornaments.

The victims told the CM that they had pledged their gold ornaments after being lured by advertisements offering gold loans at low interest rates. They alleged that Chinnathambi alias Soundararajan later cheated them of their gold.

Multiple FIRs have been registered at various Police Stations in Mysuru against Chinnathambi and the City Crime Branch (CCB) is investigating the case. According to reports, around 500 to 600 people are believed to have been affected by the alleged multi-crore fraud.

Police under influence?

The women alleged that the Police investigation had not yielded any results so far and claimed that the case was not being investigated properly, as Chinnathambi and his associates, including some political leaders, had allegedly influenced the Police.

The women, some of whom broke down while speaking to the Chief Minister, sought his intervention to expedite the CCB investigation. They said, several victims were facing financial hardship, while some were undergoing treatment in hospitals, including dialysis.

The victims also complained about delays in registering complaints and filing the charge-sheet. They urged the Chief Minister to ensure that the investigation was completed at the earliest and their gold ornaments recovered.

Plea to file charge-sheet

“Sir, please file the charge-sheet soon and help us recover our hard-earned gold. It has been six months since it was supposed to be submitted,” one of the victims reportedly told CM Shivakumar. Another woman said several victims had already submitted petitions and appealed to the Government to resolve the matter quickly.

Responding to the victims, Shivakumar assured them that he would speak to the CCB officials and take steps to ensure justice. He also questioned how educated people had fallen victim to such a fraud. The victims had earlier approached the authorities seeking recovery of their pledged gold and action against those responsible.