Mohali: A former soldier was allegedly duped of Rs 15 lakh after being persuaded to invest in a deal to redeem gold pledged with a finance company in Bathinda and raise a loan against it. Punjab State Crime Branch in Mohali has registered a case against a Bagha Purana resident following an investigation.Investigating officer Renu Sahu said a case had been registered on the basis of the inquiry report and further investigation was underway.The accused, Harjinder Singh, was booked under Sections 318(4) and 316(2) following a Punjab Bureau of Investigation (BoI) probe into a complaint by Manjit Singh, an ex-serviceman from Indergarh village in Dharamkot.According to the complaint, Manjit met Harjinder through property dealer Kuldeep Singh in Nov 2025. Harjinder allegedly told him that a widow known to him had pledged 127 tolas of gold with finance company in Bathinda against a loan of around Rs 28.7 lakh.He allegedly claimed the gold could be redeemed by clearing the outstanding amount before it was auctioned and persuaded Manjit to invest half the money.Manjit alleged that he handed over 13 tolas of gold worth around Rs 9 lakh to Harjinder on Nov 8, followed by Rs 5 lakh in cash on Nov 10. Harjinder allegedly gave him an HDFC Bank cheque for Rs 15 lakh and a blank receipt in return.Suspicion arose when Manjit sought the gold pledge receipt and Harjinder allegedly demanded another Rs 6 lakh, claiming it was needed to redeem 37 tolas of gold. Manjit subsequently lodged a complaint.Similar allegations surfaceThe BoI probe also referred to a complaint by Darshan Singh, who alleged that Harjinder took around Rs 4.50 lakh from him on the promise of arranging a Rs 90 lakh PNB loan for a pig farm.Darshan was allegedly given a loan approval letter dated March 26, 2020. Blank cheques signed by him and his guarantor were also allegedly taken.The inquiry report referred to allegations that Harjinder had taken money from several people on the pretext of arranging loans. On Sept 17, the BoI director’s office ordered registration of the case.Police said the role of other persons, if any, would also be examined during the investigation.