Elderly woman duped of ₹1.5 lakh gold ornaments by conmen near Chandlodia school

A 62-year-old woman was allegedly duped of gold ornaments worth ₹1.5 lakh by two unidentified men who tricked her with a bundle wrapped in a handkerchief near a school in Ahmedabad’s Chandlodia area.

According to Sola High Court Police Station, the incident took place on the morning of May 20 near Shreeji School in Chandlodia.

Kiranben Jagdishbhai Peethwa, a resident of Chandlodia, stated that she had gone to Shivam Gas Agency to complete formalities related to the transfer of her gas connection from Vastral to Chandlodia.

While returning home at around 10.30 am, she was approached by two unknown men near Shreeji School. One of the accused, described as a man aged between 20 and 25 years wearing a white-and-beige checked shirt and cream-coloured trousers, allegedly told her that he had stolen an item from a shop after being dismissed from work.

The accused then showed her a beige-coloured handkerchief and claimed it contained a large amount of cash. Another man, wearing a grey shirt, allegedly joined the conversation and encouraged the first accused to open the bundle.

The duo displayed a ₹500 currency note from the handkerchief and claimed that the bundle contained nearly ₹2.5 lakh, which they proposed to divide equally among themselves and the complainant.

When the woman reportedly declined the offer, the accused allegedly persuaded her to hand over her gold ornaments as ‘security’ while the cash was divided.

Believing their claims, the complainant allegedly removed and handed over gold ornaments including gold ear strands weighing around 5 grams worth approximately ₹75,000, a pair of gold anklets weighing around 3.5 grams valued at ₹52,500, and a gold link weighing about 1.5 grams worth ₹22,500.

Police said the accused then handed over the handkerchief to the woman before fleeing the spot. When she checked the bundle, she allegedly found only soil and a small stone inside.

The complainant later informed her son about the incident and subsequently approached the police to lodge a complaint.

An offence of cheating and criminal conspiracy has been registered against the two unidentified accused. 

Police said efforts are under way to identify and trace the accused.