A bullion trader who allegedly embezzled around 1.5 kg of gold by luring customers with promises of an 8% return on their gold investments has been arrested by Nashik Police’s Crime Branch Unit 1. The arrested accused has been identified as Satish Kantilal Bedmutha alias Mutha (59), a resident of Sahakarnagar, Pune.
The case came to light after Kalpana Anand Panditrao (63), a resident of Gangapur Road, Nashik, lodged a complaint at the Sarkarwada police station. According to her, Bedmutha, the director of M/s Kantilal Suganchand Saraf, had been cheating her and other customers since 2014.
Kalpana and her mother had entrusted their gold ornaments and biscuits to Bedmutha, who promised to return the items with an 8% increase in gold annually. He even provided written statements detailing the returns. However, when Kalpana asked for her gold ahead of her son’s wedding, Bedmutha delayed and became uncooperative.
During the investigation, police discovered that the shop was closed and multiple customers had fallen victim to the same scam. A case of cheating and criminal breach of trust has been registered, and further investigation is underway.