SOLAPUR MAN DUPES CITY JEWELLER OF ₹7L, BOOKED

MUMBAI: The Pydhonie police recently registered a case against a jeweller from Solapur for cheating a city-based jeweller of 174 grams of gold worth ₹7 lakh.

The accused, Pritam Ramesh Balgat alias Oswal, had assured the complainant, Lavin Prakash Samlani, 36, a resident of Vashi, of sending 155 grams of pure gold in exchange for gold mangalsutra. However, Oswal sent copper bars instead of the gold, police said.

According to police, Samlani runs a wholesale business of gold ornaments in Zaveri Bazaar. He sells gold ornaments to buyers in return for pure gold. Samlani uses courier service for sending ornaments to other states.

On February 21, Oswal called Samlani’s father introducing himself as Prakash on behalf of a jewellery shop in Solapur.

“Prakash said he needed gold mangalsutras and ordered around 15 designs (174 grams ). He assured Samlani that he would send 155 grams of pure gold as payment,” the police officer said. The gold ornaments, police said, were then sent through courier on February 21.

“On February 22, the courier service contacted Oswal and gave him the ornaments. In return Oswal gave them ‘pure gold’. On February 23, when Samlani received the order, he found it to be copper metal instead of gold biscuits,” the officer said. He then tried contacting Oswal but his phone was off, police said. Samlani then approached the police.

During investigation it was found that Faraskhana police in Pune had already arrested Oswal last week for cheating jewellers.