A 50-year-old man was arrested from Thane city for allegedly cheating a Delhi-based gold merchant of ₹80 lakh, the police said on Wednesday.
The accused, Vijay Ambalal Soni, was also wanted by the Nagpur Police for allegedly siphoning off ₹25 lakh from a private sector bank, they said.
Mr. Soni, who hails from Mehsana in Gujarat, set up a small jewellery shop at Karol Bagh in Delhi a few months ago. On October 23, 2019, he placed an order with wholesale merchant Krishnadev Khupkar for a 2-kg gold bar. After taking the delivery of the gold bar, Mr. Soni left his shop, telling Mr. Khupkar that he was going to a bank to transfer the money into the latter’s account.
When Mr. Soni did not return, Mr. Khupkar filed a police complaint with the Karol Bagh police of being cheated of gold worth around ₹80 lakh, police inspector Rajkumar Kothmire, Thane Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC), said.
Mr. Khupkar also approached the Thane Police AEC last month after he got a tip-off that Mr. Soni was to come here. Based on the complaint, the officials launched a probe and nabbed Mr. Soni from Talao Pali on Tuesday and booked him for cheating under the Indian Penal Code, the official said.
Mr. Soni would set up a small jewellery shop and find wholesale merchants to place orders for gold with, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) N.T. Kadam said. After winning their confidence, he would place big orders and run away after taking the delivery.
The accused has been handed over to the Karol Bagh police in Delhi, the official said. He was also wanted in a case registered at Ganeshpath police station in Nagpur for allegedly siphoning off ₹25.11 lakh from a Mumbai branch of a private bank through online transfer. He also has a case of cheating registered against him with the LT Marg police in Mumbai, the police said.
Mr. Soni’s interrogation revealed several offences were also registered against him at Boisar in Palghar district and Surat in Gujarat, Mr. Kadam said.
He was booked under Sections 407 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code by the Boisar police in 2013. He was later convicted and served a two-year jail term for the offence. Mr. Soni was also booked by Varachha police in Surat and arrested by them. He was currently out on bail.
A search is also on for Mr. Soni’s brothers, who were allegedly also involved in these offences, the police said.