Mumbai: Borivali police nab conman for Rs 19.43 lakh jewellery fraud

The accused, Rakesh Bhimsen Bagla

The Borivali police have arrested a 39-year-old habitual conman from Ulwe for allegedly duping jewellers by selling or mortgaging high-quality, gold-coated fake jewellery stamped with forged hallmark symbols. The accused, identified as Rakesh Bhimsen Bagla, was apprehended following an investigation into a Rs 19.43 lakh fraud reported by a Borivli-based jeweller.

According to police sources, Bagla hails from Bathinda, Punjab, and had been living alone in various parts of Mumbai after leaving his parental home. Around four years ago, he married a woman from Assam, whose father is reportedly a jailer in Guwahati.

Last month, Bagla allegedly sold fake gold-coated jewellery bearing a forged hallmark to a Borivali jeweller for Rs 5 lakh. He then used the money to purchase real gold. The fraud came to light when the jeweller melted the ornaments and found them to be counterfeit. The total loss was later pegged at Rs 19.43 lakh.

The complainant, a 51-year-old jeweller with a store on SV Road, Borivali West, reported that on May 9, around 2.45 pm, he had gone home for lunch. At approximately 3.51 pm, a female sales executive called to inform him that an unknown man had visited the shop with a 51.050-grammes gold chain marked with hallmark HUID-9AYIE4, seeking to exchange it for new jewellery for his wife.

The staff accepted the chain and generated a bill for 44 grammes of new gold ornaments. The customer identified himself as Vikrant Thakur and claimed he would submit his PAN card later.

When the jeweller returned around 5.30 pm and inspected the chain, he grew suspicious. He removed two links and melted them, revealing a copper core. Realising the jewellery was fake, he reviewed CCTV footage and approached the Borivli police station.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation, led by Senior Inspector Maloji Shinde and PSI Rajesh Kadam, was conducted under the supervision of DCP Anand Bhoite (Zone 11) and ACP Sunil Jaybhaye.

"We scanned CCTV footage and examined call data records (CDRs)," a senior police officer said. "One common mobile number emerged, but the accused had been frequently changing SIM cards, using more than eight, making it difficult to trace him."

The investigation eventually led the team to Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, where Bagla was arrested last week. During interrogation, he confessed to committing similar frauds in Thane and Taloja. He had previously been arrested in 2019 for a similar offence.

Following his earlier arrest, Bagla relocated from Andheri to Navi Mumbai, changed his name, and began living in rented accommodations to avoid detection. Police believe he sourced the counterfeit gold-coated jewellery with realistic hallmark stamps from Uttar Pradesh. A search is underway for his suppliers.

"He would either sell or mortgage the fake jewellery. Many jewellers, misled by the hallmark and appearance, accepted it without thorough checks. When the mortgage period ended and the ornaments were melted, the fraud was discovered, but by then, Bagla had vanished," the officer said

In the Borivli case as well, the realistic appearance of the jewellery initially fooled the sales executive.

"We suspect he may have committed similar offences in other states too, given his modus operandi," the officer added.

Bagla was produced in court and has been remanded to judicial custody.