Man arrested for duping jeweller with fake gold

A 34-year-old man was arrested for cheating a jewellery owner with fake gold.

A 34-year-old man was arrested for cheating a jewellery owner with fake gold.

Police said that he bought the fake jewellery from Uttar Pradesh. They also seized four gold-plated chains, 12 finger rings and seven earrings.

The accused, Rakesh Bagla, is a resident of Mira Road. His accomplice Shivkumar Soni, 20, would supply the fake gold jewellery to Bagla.

The incident came to light when Rakesh Ramesh Punmiya complained at Thane Nagar police station that he was cheated by an unknown person who came to sell a gold chain last month. “The accused went to Punmiya’s jewellery store in Thane and gave a wrong name and address. He sold 29gms Hallmark jewellery for ₹60,000. It was only after the accused left that the jewellery owner checked the authenticity of the gold chain and realised it was only gold plated. Based on CCTV footage and with help from technology, we traced the accused,” said a police officer from Thane Nagar police station.

The accused confessed that he has committed similar crimes and his accomplice Soni had more jewellery that was to be used for such crimes. He confessed to have cheated jewellery shop owners in Punjab, Pune and Nagpada. The two have been booked under Section 420 of the IPC.