Balasore: The Balasore police have arrested as many as seven persons, including a goldsmith, over their alleged involvement in taking loan of Rs 70 lakh from a bank against fake gold.

The accused goldsmith, Padmalochan Rana, was employed by the bank to assess both the originality of gold and its valuation.

According to police, Rana's offence included arranging customers and certifying fake gold as genuine. Based on his evaluations, the bank would approve gold loans for the customers.

Reportedly, around 14 customers had given fake gold to secure loans totaling Rs 70 lakh. The matter came to the fore after a team from Bhubaneswar conducted an audit at the bank, revealing the falseness of the gold.

Consequently, the manager of the bank filed a complaint with the police.

Gayatri Pradhan, Balasore City DSP, said, "We received a complaint asserting that 14 customers had provided counterfeit gold to obtain loan amounting to Rs 70 lakh. The goldsmith had been employed by the bank for five to six years. Loans were sanctioned based on the goldsmith's evaluations."

Pradhan further remarked that an ongoing investigation is in progress to establish potential complicity of other individuals and bank personnel in the fraudulent activities.