Senior citizen duped of ₹31L in ‘money-rain’, buried gold con; 2 held

The alleged fraud began in 2016, when Paliwal introduced the complainant to Sharma and claimed he had a pair of glasses that could see through the ground

Mumbai: A Kandivali senior citizen was allegedly conned out of ₹31 lakh after two men promised him everything from X-ray goggles that could spot buried gold to a ritual that would supposedly make cash rain from the sky, police said. The accused, Bhavarlal Paliwal and Gaurishankar Sharma, were arrested by the Kandivali police and produced before a court on Sunday.

Senior citizen duped of ₹31L in ‘money-rain’, buried gold con; 2 held

The alleged fraud began in 2016, when Paliwal introduced the complainant to Sharma and claimed he had a pair of glasses that could see through the ground. He told the senior citizen that ₹3 lakh was needed to buy the glasses and that they could later be sold at a profit, a portion of which would be shared with the complainant.

The complainant allegedly sent the money through his brother. When he later asked about the glasses, the accused allegedly told him that a ‘Guru’ from Rajasthan would provide them.

Three years later, in 2019, the duo allegedly told him that a ‘puja’ was needed to locate treasure buried beneath his house. They asked for another ₹6 lakh, promising him a share of the treasure once it was recovered. Trusting them, he allegedly paid the amount to them

In August 2023, Paliwal allegedly came up with another promise. He told the complainant that a ‘puja’ at Sharma’s house would trigger a “money rain”, or a miraculous shower of cash.

He allegedly insisted that the matter be kept secret and demanded ₹15 lakh for the ritual. An agreement regarding repayment was also executed.

The alleged scam was given another layer of credibility in December 2023, when Paliwal sent the complainant a WhatsApp photograph showing two men counting cash. The photograph was allegedly presented as proof of the promised “shower of money”.

When the accused allegedly continued evading repayment of the ₹31 lakh, the complainant began making inquiries and discovered that the promised X-ray goggles and cash shower were a sham. He then approached Kandivali police.

Police registered a case against the duo and began investigating. Acting on information gathered during the probe, officers detained and subsequently arrested Paliwal and Sharma. They were produced before the court on Sunday and remanded in police custody.