A 59-year-old man, Mohan Rai, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding a local businessman, Gaurav Soni, of Rs30 lakh by selling fake “excavated gold” in a scam so convincing that even a gold purity test initially backed the deception. Rai, a resident of Uttam Nagar, was apprehended by the police on March 3, while his accomplices remain at large. The police have recovered Rs1.70 lakh from Rai’s possession.
The scam began when Gaurav Soni, a businessman from Paschim Vihar, was introduced by hardware shop owner Ramesh Sharma to a woman referred to as “mother” and two men who claimed to be father and son. The trio presented a tale of having gold that was allegedly unearthed during a digging project at their home in Mathura.
Initially, the fraudsters provided two golden pearls, which were tested and found to be 78% pure gold. Gaining Soni’s trust, they later offered him a necklace set weighing around 2 kg, which they claimed was worth Rs80 lakh. However, after Soni received the gold and had it scrutinized, he discovered it was fake. When he attempted to contact the fraudsters, their phones were switched off, leaving him with no way to recover his money.
An FIR was registered on December 25 at Palam Village Police Station, and an investigation was launched. Police analyzed over 100 mobile numbers and IMEI records, which led them to Rai. During questioning, Rai admitted to orchestrating the scam with two accomplices, Babu Lal and Lakshmi, who had supplied the fake gold. Rai also confessed to receiving Rs9.5 lakh from the fraudulent proceeds.
The police are continuing their investigation to apprehend the remaining suspects involved in the scam.
