A 39-year-old man from Ranchi, Santosh Kumar Sao, was arrested by Plant Site police in Rourkela on Thursday afternoon for attempting to sell fake hallmark gold jewellery and stealing a gold ring from a local shop.
On January 8, Sao visited M N Alankar Palace jewellery shop around 12:30 pm, presenting gold and silver ornaments for sale. Shop owner Ranjaya Prasad suspected the items were counterfeit and refused the transaction. During the visit, Sao swapped a genuine gold ring weighing 6.5 grams with a fake one and left the shop.
After verifying the stock, Prasad discovered the missing ring and the counterfeit replacement. Searching the locality, he found Sao in the daily market area, trying to sell fake ornaments at other shops. Prasad filed an FIR at Plant Site Police Station, and the police coordinated with Ranchi authorities to check Sao’s criminal background.
During questioning, Sao admitted to embossing fake hallmarks on gold and silver ornaments to cheat jewellery shop owners and make money. Police seized 25g of fake gold, 250g of fake silver, Rs 20,000 in cash, and the stolen gold ring, which was later returned to Prasad.
DSP Nirmal Mohapatra, Zone-II, Rourkela, said, “The accused has been arrested and will be forwarded to court. Investigation is ongoing.” Sao had also attempted to sell counterfeit ornaments at four to five other jewellery shops in Rourkela.
