A cunning fraud unfolded in Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur when a self-proclaimed desi ghee vendor from Gujarat orchestrated a 45-lakh scam against a municipal revenue inspector. The plot, involving three partners and spanning Gujarat to UP, exposes vulnerabilities in personal trust amid rising gold scams.
Manju Rathore had ingratiated herself into the officer’s life for 6-7 years, delivering ghee regularly. Her fabricated backstory of being from Rajasthan’s Kishangarh masked her true Gujarat origins, fostering blind faith.
Days before Holi, she brought 50 tola fake gold biscuits to the officer’s residence, citing her daughter’s wedding expenses. Postponed to March 7, she returned with aides, insisting on immediate jewelry needs. Knowing the officer’s stock of wedding gold, she executed the switch flawlessly.
In exchange for the bogus biscuits, she took 20 tola authentic gold pieces—bangles, necklaces, rings, and studs—along with 15 lakhs cash, totaling massive losses. The gang fled, leaving the officer in the lurch.
Quick thinking led to a jeweler’s verification, revealing the fraud. Sarguja police registered an FIR under BNS sections and launched a probe using surveillance and digital trails.
Breakthroughs came swiftly: arrests in Rajkot yielded Manju and Santosh Rathore with cash and gold. Prayagraj operations netted Sunita and Kamla Gujrati with more recoveries. Over 20 lakhs and 100 grams gold recovered so far.
The accused confessed to offloading leftover gold locally, prompting a jeweler hunt. This interstate con ring’s tactics—long-term grooming followed by high-stakes swaps—demand heightened vigilance in gold transactions.