Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has arrested a jeweller who had been absconding after allegedly cheating a fellow jeweller of gold, silver, and diamonds worth ₹12.77 crore. The accused, identified as Birju Kishor Kumar Salla (45), was arrested from a hotel in Gujarat where he had been hiding.
According to the EOW, an FIR had been registered against Salla on June 10 at LT Marg Police Station. After evading arrest for several weeks, investigators tracked his location to Gujarat. Acting on a tip-off, the Gujarat Police detained Salla from the hotel and later handed him over to the Mumbai EOW team.
On Thursday (July 3), Salla was produced before a court in Mumbai, which remanded him in EOW custody until July 5.
Investigators revealed that Salla had received gold, silver, and diamonds worth ₹12.77 crore from the complainant under the pretext of selling them, but instead absconded without making any payment. The accused reportedly shared both business and familial ties with the complainant and exploited this relationship to carry out the fraud.
Significantly, Salla has a prior criminal record. He was previously arrested for issuing a hoax bomb threat related to a flight hijack in Ahmedabad, for which he had also served jail time. The EOW has confirmed that further investigation is underway.
