Lucknow: A city-based jeweller was allegedly duped of ₹53.5 lakh after a Haryana-based fraudster cheated him by handing over fake gold bars in exchange for cash and jewellery.The case came to light after, the victim, Sanjeev Kumar Rastogi, owner of Swarna Siddhi Jewellers in Alambagh lodged a complaint at Chowk police station.In his complaint, he alleged that the accused, Ajay Kumar Chaudhary of Rohtak, had developed closed ties with his family in the past 18 months, and gained their trust before executing the fraud along with two of his associates.He alleged that Chaudhary approached him with a gold deal, saying that four gold bars which belonged to a widow of a deceased Army relative needed to be sold discreetly.Believing the deal to be genuine, Rastogi bought the bars on Sept 7 and handed over Rs 20 lakh in cash and jewellery worth about Rs 33.5 lakh to the accused.He later discovered that the bars only contained thin gold coating over ordinary metal. By then, Chaudhary had disappeared and his mobile phone was switched off.Chowk SHO Nagesh Upadhyay said a case has been registered, and police teams are working to trace the accused.
