Man dupes 78-yr-old of ₹5.2 lakh by selling 1.5kg fake gold coins

MUMBAI: An unidentified person was booked for allegedly duping a 78-year-old retired textile mill employee of ₹5.20 lakh by selling him fake gold coins weighing 1.5 kg.

“We are checking CCTV footage where the victim and accused met to settle the deal,” said police inspector Sagar Sivalkar, Dadar Police Station.

The complainant retired from Swan Mill, Sewri, around 18 years ago and presently lives in Mahim along with his wife.

“On March 10, the accused approached him and enquired if the elderly man could help him. The accused, who introduced himself as Raju, informed the 78-year-old that he had several coins at his house and wanted to check if those contained any gold in it, and showed some coins to him,” he added.

The complainant then took Raju to a nearby jewellery shop and requested the jeweller to check whether the coins were made of gold. The jeweller inspected the coins and informed them that they were 22-carat gold, said Sivalkar.

The conman again came to meet him on March 11. He gave two coins to the complainant, asking him to verify it. The accused told the victim that he was not in a hurry so he could return the coins to him the next day. The victim verified with his jeweller who confirmed that the coins were real gold. The conman later told the senior citizen that he wanted to get married and needed money and therefore wanted to sell the entire stock for a lesser amount.

“The senior citizen then withdrew ₹3.20 lakh – whatever savings he had left – and borrowed ₹2 lakh from his nephew. The elderly man and his wife then met the accused in Dadar West and paid ₹5.20,” said Sivalkar.

The accused then handed over a bag containing several coins. When the couple went to their jeweller, they realised that the coins were fake and approached the Dadar police on Sunday.