Duo decamps with ₹42 lakh paid by jeweller for ornaments

Two men have been accused of stealing INR4.2m ($59,000) from a jeweller in Mumbai who had paid the sum as an advance to purchase gold ornaments from the pair. Manish Soni, who owns a jewellery shop in the city's Zaveri Bazar area, had met the duo at an exhibition in Hyderabad. After agreeing to purchase a design worth INR5m, he handed over the advance to one of the men, Ayushyaman. Soni later found both men's phones were switched off and reported the theft to police. Officers have dispatched a team to Rajasthan, where they believe the suspects may be.

Mumbai: Two persons were recently booked for allegedly decamping with ₹42 lakh from a 44-year-old jeweller who paid the amount as an advance to buy gold ornaments from the duo. The accused have been identified as Ayushyaman and Hukumsingh.

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The victim, Manish Soni, has a jewellery shop in Zaveri Bazar, south Mumbai and lives in Chembur. According to the police, Soni visits jewellery exhibitions to buy new designs for his customers and from May 19 to 21, he was in Hyderabad to showcase his gold designs in one such exhibition at the ‘Hitech Exhibition Centre.’

“Soni met Hukumsingh in the exhibition where the latter claimed that he own a gold shop in the Kalbadevi area and supplied ornaments based on the design and orders from jewellers in the area. “During the discussion, the accused took names of several jewellers whom the victim also knew so they exchanged their mobile numbers,” said an officer from LT Marg Police Station.

Hukumsingh had shown his gold ornaments and the victim liked one of the designs worth ₹50 lakh, the officer said, adding, “Soni called the accused on May 22 after returning from Hyderabad. He offered to pay ₹42 lakh and promised him that the remaining amount of ₹8 lakh would be paid on receipt of the ornaments. The accused agreed and sent Ayushyaman to collect the money.”

On the same day, at 3:30pm, Ayushyaman came to his shop, the officer said. He added that Soni made Ayushyaman and Hukumsingh talk over the phone to get confirmation.

“After confirmation, Soni handed over ₹42 lakh. Later, to know the whereabouts of the jewellery, Soni called the duo and found that both their mobile phones were switched off. Upon realising that he had been cheated, Soni approached the police and filed a complaint on May 23,” added the police officer.

As per the police, they suspect that the duo is in Rajasthan. “We have dispatched a team to Rajasthan and are searching for the duo,” said a police officer, who is part of the investigating team.