Mumbai: Inter-state gang arrested in Rs 25 lakh fake gold scam in Malad

Mumbai Police have arrested members of a habitual interstate gang for allegedly cheating a Malad resident of Rs 25 lakh by falsely claiming to have unearthed gold ornaments during excavation work and selling him counterfeit jewellery an official saidThe case has been registered at Malad Police Station under Crime Register No 88325 invoking Sections 3162 3184 and 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNSAccording to the police the complainant Dinesh Mehta 51 a resident of Ankur Building in Somwar Bazaar Malad West was approached by the main accused Baboolal Bhalaram Waghela 55 between November 26 and December 4 2025 The accused allegedly initiated contact by conversing in Rajasthani and gradually gained the complainantrsquos confidenceWaghela claimed that gold ornaments weighing around 900 grams had been discovered during excavation work behind a temple in Nashik He offered either to sell the ornaments on Mehtarsquos behalf or to sell them directly to him To establish credibility the accused reportedly showed the ornaments and provided a few yellowmetal beads as samples which tested positive for goldTrusting the claim Mehta allegedly paid Rs 25 lakh in cash and took possession of the jewellery However when the ornaments were later examined by a goldsmith they were found to be fake The complainant then approached the police following which an FIR was registered on December 5 2025The investigationDuring the investigation the Crime Detection Team of Malad Police collected CCTV footage from the crime scene and surrounding areas including Kandivali East and analysed technical data such as call detail records and mobile dump data Although the CCTV visuals were unclear police said the accused were traced based on body structure gait analysis and technical inputs after examining footage from over 100 government and private cameras over three consecutive daysThe probe led to the identification of five accused Two were traced to Gandhinagar in Gujarat and two to Virar East in Palghar district The prime accused Waghela was first arrested from his residence in Kalol Gandhinagar district A search of his house led to the seizure of Rs 1545 lakh in cash believed to be part of the cheated amount and a mobile phone allegedly used in the crimeDuring interrogation Waghela disclosed the involvement of his wife Kokubai Baboolal Waghela 50 She has been served a notice under Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita BNSS and directed to appear before the policeAfter securing transit remand from a court in Kalol the accused was brought to Mumbai and produced before a holiday court in Borivali Subsequently the remaining three accusedmdashManglaram Manaram Wagri 34 Kesararam Bhagtaram Wagri 41 and Bhavarlal Baboolal Wagri 48mdashwere arrested from Virar East Police said all three are engaged in photoframe making and their role in the offence was confirmed during interrogationInvestigators said all the accused are originally from Rajasthanrsquos Jalore district and are part of a gang that travels across states to commit similar offences Police also revealed that Waghela has previous cheating cases registered against him at the Kalol Taluka Police Station and Sabarmati Police Station in GujaratAnother accused identified as Govind and aged around 30 is currently absconding and efforts are underway to trace him While Rs 1545 lakh has been recovered so far police said recovery of the remaining amount and other property is in progressThe investigation is being conducted by Assistant Police Inspectors Abhijit Kale and Deepak Raivade under the supervision of Senior Police Inspector Dushyant Chavan of Malad Police Station