Father-son booked for pilfering gold worth ₹1.71 cr from jeweller

MUMBAI: A jeweller duo and their worker face legal action for allegedly misappropriating 2,096 grams of gold worth ₹1.71 crore from a client.

MUMBAI: A case has been registered against a father-son jeweller duo and their worker after they allegedly misappropriated 2,096 grams of gold worth around ₹1.71 crore belonging to a Kalbadevi-based jeweller. According to the police, the accused made a false claim to the jeweller that the gold he had given them for making ornaments had been stolen by a worker.

Father-son booked for pilfering gold worth ₹1.71 cr from jeweller

A police officer said they had registered a case on the complaint of Bharat Jain, who has a store in Zaveri Bazaar in South Mumbai. “The complainant makes jewellery for Malabar Gold, Bima Gold and Navratna Gold,” said a police officer. “On November 15, he got an order from Malabar Gold to make bracelets, chains, rings and bangles. He gave the order to Padmavati Jewellers in Chinchpokli East owned by Kalpesh Jain and his son Pranat. Their worker, Nilesh Ufhale was present at all the meetings and was part of the conspiracy.”

The complainant gave Kalpesh Jain the gold to make the jewellery and was promised delivery in ten days. “After getting more orders on November 23 from Malabar Gold, he gave more gold to Kalpesh and Pranat Jain for more jewellery,” said the police officer. “At that point, the father and son told the complainant that they would deliver the jewellery in the next few days, as there was a lot of workload. However, every time he contacted them, they gave him some or the other excuse to not deliver.”

On December 3, the complainant finally got around 1,000 grams or 1 kg of gold jewellery. When he inquired about the remaining ornaments, the father and son told him they would soon deliver those as well. “But they never did,” said the police officer. “When the complainant tried calling, Kalpesh’s phone was switched off, so he called Pranat. That’s when Pranat told him that a worker from Kolkata had fled with around five kilos of gold, and his father had gone to Kolkata to track him down.”

When the complainant visited the nearby Kalachowki police station under whose jurisdiction the accused’s unit fell, the police told him there was no such case registered with them. “When the complainant questioned the accused about it, he returned 500 grammes of gold to him on January 2,” said the police officer. “Finally, tired of pursuing them, he approached us and we registered a case against Kalpesh, his son Pranat and their worker Nilesh Ufhale on February 26.”

The case has been registered under Sections 316 (2) (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 318 (4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. “The accused have got anticipatory bail,” said the police officer.