Patna: Two persons were arrested on Saturday for allegedly operating a counterfeit gold jewellery racket in the state capital. The arrested were identified as Mantu and Ravi Ranjan, while their third accomplice, Manish Yadav, was still at large. The duo allegedly duped a local jeweller of Rs 1.5 crore in the last 15 days, police said.
According to the police, the three accused used to make fake gold jewellery with the hallmark and the shop’s name of the jeweller. They used 5% gold for crafting the outer layer of the jewellery with adulterated gold inside. They would then exchange these pieces for original jewellery at the same shop by showing the hallmark. The gold jewellery was then melted down in Bakarganj and sold to other shops using same modus operandi.
“An FIR related to the fraud was lodged at Shastri Nagar police station by the jewellery shop owner, Mohit Kumar Khemka, on Friday. The police began their investigation and arrested the accused,” said Shastri Nagar SHO, Amar Kumar. The SHO further said that Mantu was the mastermind of the racket. “A few years ago, he used to work at the same jewellery shop and was removed from there. After that, he started making fake and adulterated jewellery using the hallmark and name of the same shop. He also involved Manish and Ravi Ranjan in the scheme,” he added.
Patna: Two persons were arrested on Saturday for allegedly operating a counterfeit gold racket in the state capital. The arrested were identified as Mantu and Ravi Ranjan, while the third accomplice, Manish Yadav, was still at large. The duo allegedly duped a local jeweller of Rs 1.5 crore in the last 15 days, police said.
According to the police, the three accused used to make fake gold jewellery with the hallmark and the shop’s name of the jeweller. They used 5% gold for crafting the outer layer of the jewellery with adulterated gold inside. They would then exchange these pieces for original jewellery at the same shop by showing the hallmark. The gold jewellery was then melted down in Bakarganj and sold to other shops using same modus operandi.
“An FIR related to the fraud was lodged at Shastri Nagar police station by the jewellery shop owner, Mohit Kumar Khemka, on Friday. The police began their investigation and arrested the accused,” said Shastri Nagar SHO, Amar Kumar.
The SHO said that Mantu was the mastermind of the racket. “A few years ago, he used to work at the same jewellery shop and was removed from there. After that, he started making fake and adulterated jewellery using the hallmark and name of the same shop. He also involved Manish and Ravi Ranjan in the scheme,” he added.