Betrayal! Artisan who lived with family for 13 years flees with gold; 18 tolas stolen

• Second such case in a month after police camp

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A West Bengal-based artisan, along with his family, fled after taking 18 tolas of gold entrusted to him by a homeowner and two other jewellers for making jewellery.

The accused, Meghnath Roy (41, Hugli, West Bengal), is now under police investigation at the Citychowk police station. The suspect had been living on rent for the past 13 years in the building of Abdul Latif (48, Junabazar), a mobile shop owner, and maintained a good rapport with the family. Meghnath had been making gold jewellery in the city for the past 20 years and even ran a shop in Kasari Bazaar. In September 2025, Latif had given him 60 grams of 24-carat gold to make a necklace. Meghnath promised to deliver it within eight days, but kept delaying with various excuses. On October 31, Latif tried contacting him, but his phone was switched off. Upon visiting his residence, they found the house emptied, confirming that he had fled. His shop in Kasari Bazaar was also found closed, raising further suspicion.

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Three victims defrauded

Latif reached out to another jeweller acquaintance, Uday Saraf, who reported that on October 28, Meghnath had received 59.5 grams of gold for jewellery making. Another jeweller, Shaikh Kadir Mahimenu Sheikh, had given him 57.6 grams of gold. Meghnath took all of it, switched off his phone, and fled with his family. Notably, Meghnath had worked with Saraf for 20 years. A month ago, another artisan from West Bengal had similarly fled with a jeweller’s gold. Police Sub-Inspector Sanjay Rathod is investigating further.