Army soldier identified as mastermind in Rs 1cr jewellery fraud in Meerut; 3 arrested

Meerut: An Army soldier currently posted in Darjeeling has been identified as the alleged mastermind behind a Rs 1 crore jewellery fraud executed in Meerut last month, police said on Saturday. Three men accused of fleeing with the stolen ornaments have been arrested.SP (City) Ayush Vikram Singh said the Army personnel, Krishna Tiwari, originally from Bihar, allegedly orchestrated the scheme by luring two businessmen — Praveen Sharma and Pushpendra Chaudhary — into a plan to convert unaccounted cash into legitimate funds. Under this pretext, they visited Raghunandan Jewellers in Meerut's Abu Plaza area, where the fraud was carried out.The case came to light after showroom owner, Tanmay Agarwal, lodged a police complaint on Tuesday, stating that on Feb 18 he received a call from a man identifying himself as Krishna, claiming to be the owner of a jewellery store in Delhi's Karol Bagh. He told police that the caller offered to send Rs 1 crore in cash in exchange for jewellery of equivalent value. An associate later arrived at the showroom, selected ornaments worth Rs 99.85 lakh, and pretended to step out for a walk. Agarwal also said that Rs 15,000 in cash was stolen from the shop.The SP said, "Praveen Sharma, the owner of Bhagwan Depot on Roorkee Road, along with pharmaceutical businessman Pushpendra Chaudhary from the Dabathwa area of Meerut, acting on instructions from Krishna Tiwari, carried two bags containing Rs 1 crore in cash to the showroom. While Agarwal was busy counting the money, one of Tiwari's associates, Pankaj Bhardwaj, stating the counting will take time took away the jewellery." Following the complaint, a case was registered at Sadar Bazar police station under sections 318(4) (cheating), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and 317(2) (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of BNS.Bhardwaj was arrested on Tuesday while his two Hapur-based accomplices – Sachin Kumar and Raja Vir Singh – were arrested on Wednesday. "Jewellery worth Rs 80 lakh and Rs 90,000 in cash were also recovered. Efforts are on to nab the mastermind and other perpetrators of crime," added the SP.Police said the syndicate is suspected to be part of a nationwide network engaged in similar fraudulent activities.