Gang dupes six jewellers by pledging fake gold chains

Pune: A five-member gang duped six jewellers of Rs10.50 lakh by pledging fake gold chains under the pretext of them being genuine since February this year. The incident came to light after the jewellers registered six FIRs, including three with the Kalepadal police and one each with the Chandan Nagar, Ambegaon, and Parvati police, late Sunday night, after the pledgers failed to pay interest.The city crime branch unit VI has detained four of the five men by establishing their identity through CCTV footage. Based on the outcome of their questioning, a call to arrest them would be taken, said deputy commissioner of police (Crime) Nikhil Pingale. Senior inspector Mansing Patil of the Kalepadal police on Monday said the gang approached three jewellers in the Hadapsar area and expressed their desire to pledge the gold chains, citing reasons such as needing money for the medical bills of their ailing mother recuperating in a private hospital.Patil said that the gang, operating in groups, furnished fake identity cards, Aadhar cards, and receipts of the ornaments purchased to gain the confidence of the jewellers. They pledged the chains and collected varying amounts from them by way of loans. The jeweller melted the chain and found that it was made of copper after the pledger did not turn up after the maturity period of repaying the loan lapsed, he added.Senior inspector Sharad Zine from Ambegaon police said investigations in the incident reported at a jewellery store on Jhambulkar Road and five other cases registered with various police stations revealed that the gang had polished the chains to a six-carat golden colour to deceive the jewellers. This fact did not come to the notice of the jewellers initially when they scratched the chain on a stone to check its genuineness.Senior Inspector Seema Dhakane of Chandan Nagar police said two men initially came and sold a fake gold chain to a jeweller in Wadgaon Sheri. Later, their two accomplices pledged a silver chain with gold-plated colour and furnished fake details like their name and address. The jeweller grew suspicious after the pledger did not turn up to clear the loan and found that a silver chain plated with gold was pledged to them, she added.In Parvatii, senior inspector Nandakumar Gaikwad of Parvati police said the gang had professionally polished the golden colour on the fake chain so that it looked real. The jeweller came to know that he was tricked after the gang was detained.