Five of fraud gang held for duping man of ₹26L by selling fake gold

Five members of an inter-state fraud gang were arrested for cheating a 51-year-old man of ₹26 lakh by luring him into buying fake gold jewellery, which they claimed was recovered from an excavation site in Nashik

Mumbai: Five members of an inter-state fraud gang were arrested for cheating a 51-year-old man of ₹26 lakh by luring him into buying fake gold jewellery, which they claimed was recovered from an excavation site in Nashik.

Five of fraud gang held for duping man of ₹26L by selling fake gold

According to the Malad police, the victim, Dinesh Mehta, a resident of Somwar Bazaar, Malad (West), approached them on December 5. Mehta, a businessman, told the police that the main accused, Baboolal Bhalaram Waghela, 55, had initially contacted him through a message on November 26, claiming that gold ornaments weighing around 900 grams had been unearthed during excavation work behind a temple in Nashik.

The police said Waghela offered the complainant two options, either to sell the ornaments together or to buy them directly from him to avoid paying a middleman’s commission. The accused also showed Mehta the ornaments and gave him a few yellow-metal beads as samples. When Mehta’s jeweller tested the beads, they proved to be gold indeed.

Mehta then paid ₹25 lakh in cash in exchange for the jewellery, but when the ornaments were later examined in detail by a jeweller, they were found to be fake. Mehta then approached the police, following which an FIR was registered.

After analysing CCTV footage from the area, the police identified five people involved in the scam. Two of them were traced to Gandhinagar in Gujarat, while two others were found in Virar East in Palghar. The prime accused, Waghela, was arrested from his residence in Kalol, Gandhinagar. A search of his house revealed ₹15.45 lakh in cash, believed to be part of the cheated amount, and a mobile phone allegedly used in the crime.

When interrogated, Waghela revealed that his wife Kokubai Baboolal Waghela, 50, was involved in the scam, and she has been served a notice to appear before the police. The police also arrested three other accused Manglaram Manaram Wagri, 34, Kesararam Bhagtaram Wagri, 41, and Bhavarlal Baboolal Wagri, 48, all employed at a photo-frame making shop. Another accused is currently absconding, and the police are trying to track him down.

The police said the accused are originally from Rajasthan’s Jalore district and are part of a gang that travels across states to commit similar frauds. The police added that Waghela has previous cheating cases registered against him at the Kalol Taluka police station and the Sabarmati police station in Gujarat.

The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the BNS. While ₹15.45 lakh has been recovered so far, a police officer said, “We are actively tracing the absconding accused and continuing efforts to recover the remaining money.”