33-year-old goldsmith flees with 7kg jewellery, arrested

According to police, Asadul Mondal and five of his associates were involved in the crime, the remaining are currently on the run while 953 grams of the valuables have been recovered.

The Delhi Police said they arrested a 33-year-old goldsmith from West Bengal on Sunday for allegedly fleeing with seven kilogram of gold and diamond jewellery that was given to him for repair. The jewellery was worth ₹6.5 crore, belonging to two jewellers in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh, police said on Tuesday.

33-year-old goldsmith flees with 7kg jewellery, arrested

According to police, Asadul Mondal and five of his associates were involved in the crime, the remaining are currently on the run while 953 grams of the valuables have been recovered.

The goldsmith worked as a jewellery preparation contractor at Beadonpura in Karol Bagh, with expertise in repairing, polishing and setting stones into intricate designs for gold and diamond jewellery.

Sanjay Bhatia, additional commissioner of police (crime) said that Mondal was given 2.7kg gold by Sanjay Goyal, a jewellery dealer in Karol Bagh, for repair and setting diamonds and stones in preparation for an upcoming exhibition in Rajasthan. On December 17, police said, Goyal found that Mondal was no longer present at his workplace, and his mobile mobile phone was switched off. It was further learnt that Mondal had fled with around ₹2 crore jewellery items along with his associates. Goyal filed a complaint, and a case of breach of trust was registered at the Karol Bagh police station.

“Another complainant, Ravi Kant, a gold and diamond jewellery dealer, also came forward with a similar complaint. He reported that he had entrusted Mondal with 5.5kg of gold jewellery, worth approximately ₹3.9 crore, and diamonds valued ₹40 lakh for repair, polishing, and intricate design work,” Bhatia added.

On December 21, Bhatia said, police came to know that Mondal was in West Bengal and on December 22, Mondal was arrested from Hooghly.

Vikram Singh, DCP (crime), said, “Mondal was carrying a bag at the time of the arrest. On checking, 23 gold jewellery items weighing 953 grams were found inside. His interrogation revealed that he committed the crime with intention to sell them off and earn money that he needed to pay off his debts and overcome the business losses.”