Kolkata, 3 December (H.S.):

A jewellery trader from Hooghly allegedly defrauded a gold workshop in North 24 Parganas by taking jewellery worth Rs 33 lakh in exchange for fake gold biscuits, police said on Wednesday. The accused is currently absconding.

According to police sources, an agreement was struck between a jewellery dealer in Hooghly and the owner of a jewellery workshop in Ghola. Under the deal, the workshop would provide gold ornaments, and in return, the Hooghly dealer would pay with gold biscuits instead of cash.

As part of the exchange, an employee from the Ghola workshop travelled to Sonapatti in Kolkata after being told that the Hooghly dealer would not visit Ghola. The employee carried about 259 grams of gold jewellery and handed it over to the accused outside a sweet shop in the area.

The accused gave him two gold biscuits in return. “The biscuits appeared genuine at first glance and were difficult to distinguish from real ones,” a senior police officer said. However, once the items were tested at the workshop, they were found to be completely fake.

Realising they had been cheated, the workshop owner, a resident of Nataghar in Ghola, filed a complaint with the Ghola Police Station. The FIR was later transferred to the Posta Police Station for further investigation, as the exchange took place in Sonapatti.

Following the complaint, police conducted a raid at Rishra in Hooghly district, where the accused trader resides. Some jewellery was recovered from his house, but the man himself had fled.

Police officials said the trader is now on the run and efforts are underway to trace and arrest him.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh