Jeweller duped of gold worth ₹12.7 lakh

A jeweller in Mumbai fell victim to a scam, losing ornaments worth ₹12.7 lakh after being deceived by individuals offering a gold exchange. The fraudsters handed over ornaments made of a different metal. The accused has been charged with criminal breach of trust and cheating.

Mumbai: A jeweller from Khar fell victim to a scam, losing ornaments valued at ₹12.7 lakh after two individuals from Bengaluru deceived him by offering to exchange 250 grams of 18-karat jewelry for a 24-karat 200-gram gold biscuit. The fraudsters, however, handed over ornaments made of a different metal.

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Rajesh Jain, who owns the jewellery shop in Zaveri Bazar was contacted by the accused who identified himself as Mahendra Jain from Bengaluru on February 7 with the said offer. The complainant told the police that this trade would stand him to earn some profits, and he agreed to it.

“The two of them later connected over WhatsApp. The accused was sent several designs, from which he chose 36. On February 9, the complaint was asked to meet a representative of the accused in a restaurant in Linking Road, Khar for the swap,” said an official from Khar police. He added that the complainant was handed over the ‘gold biscuits’ in an envelope along with the bills of the same.

The jeweller handed the envelope to one of his employees who went to their shop with it. However, when measured at the shop, the actual weight did not match the bill. They tried to contact the accused but his phone was switched off. “The complainant’s employee, meanwhile, also tested the metal of the biscuit for authenticity and found it to be made of iron,” said the officer.

The accused has been charged under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.