Accused sold gold ornaments to a Srinagar resident which were later found fake; Mehraj Din Qazi has been arrested and fake gold ornaments have been seized, say police
A goldsmith was arrested for fraud in Bijbehara, Anantnag, on Wednesday, the police said. “Counterfeit” ornaments have been seized. Cops said one Nisar Ahmad Bhat of Bindoo Kokernag, currently living in Srinagar and working as a storekeeper at Lalmandi, had lodged a complaint at the Nowhatta police station, mentioning that he had purchased gold ornaments from Mehraj Din Qazi, proprietor of M/S Soliya Ornaments, in Bijbehara and found out they were take.
Cops are investigating to see if there is any network involved in the fraud.
The police arrested the accused shopkeeper, identified as Mehraj Din Qazi, and seized the “fake” jewellery. Cops said that during questioning, the accused admitted that he had deceived customers by embossing fake hallmarks on gold-like ornaments. “The investigating team also learnt that the accused had been making home deliveries of these counterfeit items to various locations of Srinagar city, including Nowhatta. The laboratory tests of the seized gold jewellery have confirmed that the ornaments in question are indeed counterfeit. The investigation is going on to uncover any further links in this fraudulent network,” the police said.