Three people including an elderly woman have been arrested by the Naya Nagar police for duping a jeweller by selling fake silver ornaments in exchange of Rs.20,000 cash and a gold earring. The trio was nabbed after their footage captured by the Closed-Circuit Tele-Vision (CCTV) was posted on a WhatsApp group whose members are jewellers in the Mira-Bhayandar area. The accused trio have been identified as- Umesh Vijay Solanki, Nila Vinod Vahankiya and Rakesh Raman Vahankiya- all natives of Bhavnagar in Gujarat who were presently staying near CSTM railway station in Mumbai.
Trio offered to sell silver ornaments
The trio who had approached Nakshatra Jewellers in Bhayandar at around 5:30 pm on 9, June offered to sell silver ornaments weighing 675 grams ornaments in exchange of Rs.20,000 cash and a gold earring which the woman claimed was required for her daughters wedding.
Silver turned out to be fake
The unsuspecting owner handed over the cash and the gold earring. However, the silver turned out to be fake, following which they posted the CCTV footage of the suspects on the WhatsApp group of the local jewellers association.
Trio tried to repeat offence
A day later the trio walked into Laxmi Gold- an ornament showroom in the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road with an apparent intention to dupe the owner using the same modus operandi. However, the owner of Laxmi Gold who had seen the video clips on the WhatsApp group identified the trio and immediately informed the police who reached the spot and took them into custody.
Case under relevant sections of the IPC
Based on the complaint registered by Nitesh Jain-owner of Nakashatra Jewellers in Bhayandar who identified the culprits, an offence under the relevant sections of the IPC has been registered against the trio who are suspected for their involvement in duping several other jewellers in and around the region using a similar modus-operandi. Further investigations were underway.
