'Rocks wrapped in sarees': Man loses Rs 65 lakh to 'cheaper' gold bait in Hyderabad; 1 arrested

HYDERABAD: The Afzalgunj police on Monday arrested a man from Karnataka for allegedly cheating an individual of Rs 65 lakh under the guise of selling gold at a discounted rate. According to deputy commissioner of police (East Zone) B Balaswamy, the arrested was identified as Jaya Kumar, a native of Raichur district in Karnataka. Two others - Uday alias Reddy and Sandeep alias Raghu are currently absconding. Police officials seized Rs 40 lakh cash and a car from his possession. On March 20, Reddy contacted one Munukuntla Niranjan, a resident of Bhongir district, offering to sell gold at a discounted price. "The duo met a few days later, where the victim bought 5 grams of original gold for Rs 25,000," the DCP said.Convinced that Reddy was trustworthy, Niranjan met him again on May 12, this time to purchase 1 kg of gold for Rs 65 lakh. "The victim, along with his friend, met Reddy, Raghu and Jaya Kumar at around 2.30 pm near an auto stand in Putlibowli, where he handed over a bag containing the cash in exchange for a bag supposedly containing gold," police said. However, as soon as the exchange was done, the accused fled the scene on two bikes that had no number plates. When Niranjan checked the bag, he found sarees wrapped with rocks instead of gold.