Hyderabad jeweller loses ₹1.6 crore in gold scam
HYDERABAD: A man posing as a personal assistant to a prominent person in Andhra Pradesh cheated a jeweller of gold ornaments worth over ₹1.60 crore in Banjara Hills.
Police said Palakurthi Lakshmi Kavya, who runs a jewellery store on Road No. 2 in Banjara Hills and resides at My Home Bhooja in Hitec City, was contacted through Instagram by Srinath Rathi, also known as Ankit. He claimed to be the personal assistant of Pinki Reddy and said his employer possessed large quantities of gold biscuits. He proposed exchanging them for an equivalent weight of gold ornaments.
Lakshmi Kavya initially ignored the offer. However, after repeated messages, she agreed. On February 16, she sent 160 grams of gold ornaments. The next day, Srinath handed over gold biscuits of equivalent weight.
Finding the transaction profitable, she gave another 350 grams of ornaments on February 19. Srinath’s father, Purushottam, delivered gold biscuits in return.
On February 25, Srinath collected one kilogram of gold ornaments, saying he had to travel and would send the remaining biscuits through his associate, Krishna. As told, Krishna met Lakshmi Kavya at a hotel in Banjara Hills and handed over 1.80 kilograms of gold biscuits.
Fake biscuits exposed during verification
Suspecting foul play as the weight was higher, Lakshmi Kavya tested the biscuits and found them to be fake. Srinath’s phone was switched off. When questioned, Krishna said he had been hired for four days and was provided accommodation at a hotel in Somajiguda.
Lakshmi Kavya lodged a complaint at Banjara Hills police station. Police booked Srinath Rathi, Purushottam and Krishna. Krishna has been taken into custody for questioning.
Accused has prior criminal record
During inquiry, police found that Srinath had started a YouTube channel five years ago as a commerce lecturer. Several chartered accountants reportedly attended his classes. He allegedly collected ₹2.48 crore from them in the name of business investments and fled. A case was registered against him at the Hyderabad Central Crime Station.
In another case, he allegedly took ₹1 crore from a person promising to arrange a ₹10 crore loan. That case was also registered with the Central Crime Station.
