Jeweller booked for alleged ₹55 lakh fraud after fleeing with pledged gold, silver ornaments

The Economic Offences Prevention Branch of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch has registered a case against a city-based jeweller and money lender for allegedly cheating dozens of customers by absconding with pledged gold and silver ornaments collectively valued at more than ₹54.95 lakh.

According to police, the accused, Bharatji Domarji Mali, proprietor of Ashapura Jewellers located near Shahpur Darwaza in Madhupura area of Ahmedabad, is alleged to have taken gold and silver ornaments from customers as collateral against loans and later disappeared without returning either the pledged jewellery or advance payments collected from customers.

The complaint was filed by Nareshbhai Solanki, 39, a fabrication businessman residing in Shahpur area, who alleged that he had known the accused for nearly five years and had repeatedly mortgaged family jewellery with him to obtain short-term loans for personal and business requirements.

As per the complaint, Solanki had pledged around 13 tolas of gold ornaments and 400 grams of silver ornaments, collectively valued at ₹9.48 lakh, at different times with the accused. In return, he had allegedly received loans amounting to ₹4.10 lakh against the pledged valuables. He claimed that despite regularly paying monthly interest at two per cent, the accused shut his shop in August 2025 and disappeared with the ornaments, causing him a personal financial loss of ₹5.38 lakh.

Police said the investigation revealed that several other victims from Shahpur, Madhupura, Dudheshwar, Jamalpur, Chandkheda, Ranip and adjoining areas had also lodged complaints against the jeweller. As per police official,  approximately 109.539 tolas of gold ornaments worth around ₹76.67 lakh and 11.926 kilograms of silver ornaments worth ₹ 11.32 lakh had allegedly been pledged by multiple victims.

According to investigators, the accused allegedly disbursed around ₹49.19 lakh as loans against the jewellery but later absconded, leaving victims with an estimated cumulative loss of ₹ 38.30 lakh in pledged valuables. In addition, customers who had deposited advance instalment payments to purchase jewellery through monthly schemes allegedly lost another ₹&11.27 lakh.

The accused frequently avoided issuing proper receipts to customers and retained several pawn documents himself. Victims stated that whenever they sought to redeem their jewellery, they were allegedly told to return later.

The complaint names more than 50 alleged victims, including labourers, homemakers, traders and small business owners, many of whom had pledged family jewellery during financial distress. Several complainants alleged that the accused had gained the trust of local residents over the years by operating both as a jeweller and informal money lender.

Police officials said a case of criminal breach of trust, cheating and related offences has been registered against Bharatji Domarji Mali. 

Officials said efforts are underway to trace the accused and verify the claims and valuation of pledged ornaments mentioned in the complaints.