Serial Gold Fraudster Arrested in Ahmedabad for Cheating City Jewellers

A man accused of duping multiple jewellers in Ahmedabad by exchanging fake gold chains for genuine gold bars has been arrested by the Zone-7 Local Crime Branch (LCB) squad. The accused, identified as Ranjitbhai Jagmalbhai Bharwadia, is at the centre of two separate fraud cases reported at Sarkhej and Anandnagar police stations in recent days.

In the first case, registered at Sarkhej Police Station, Neelay Shaileshbhai Shah, 30, the proprietor of Gharana Jewellers in Palm Plaza on Makarba Road, alleged that on 24 March, Bharwadia visited his shop posing as a legitimate customer. He produced a gold chain weighing 19.180 grams, claiming he wished to exchange it for a newly designed ornament.

After the chain was verified for purity at a nearby jeweller’s lab, Bharwadia requested a gold bar instead, stating he would return later with a design for custom jewellery. Trusting the request, Shah handed over a 17.450-gram gold bar worth approximately ₹1.7 lakh. Bharwadia never returned. Upon retesting the chain weeks later, Shah discovered it was only gold-plated. Calls to the accused’s mobile went unanswered, prompting Shah to file a complaint on 31 May.

In a second case, filed at Anandnagar Police Station, Ketul Shah, 33, proprietor of Zhanjar Jewellers near Shyamal Cross Road, reported a similar incident on 30 May. A man identifying himself as Rajeshbhai Bhalodia, allegedly from Rajkot, offered an 18.540-gram gold chain in exchange for gold bars. After testing the chain, Shah and his employee, believing it to be genuine, handed over two gold bars weighing 15 grams in total and ₹7,650 in cash, amounting to a loss of nearly ₹1.49 lakh.

Later that day, Shah received a warning on his jewellers’ association WhatsApp group, including a photograph of the same man, flagged for fraud. He re-tested the chain, only to discover it was an alloy—approximately 45% gold and 55% base metal.

Following coordinated efforts by the Zone-7 LCB team, Bharwadia was traced and arrested. Police confirmed that both frauds were committed by the same individual, who used different identities and forged documents to carry out the scams.

"Upon technical surveillance and cross-verification of the modus operandi in both FIRs, we identified the accused as Ranjitbhai Bharwadia. He has been taken into custody and is being interrogated for his role in similar cases that may have gone unreported," said an officer from Zone-7 LCB.

It was revealed during investigation that the accused has a debt of 22lakh in order get out it he started cheating jewellery like this. 

Bharwadia faces charges underIndian Penal Code (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property). Investigations are ongoing to determine whether he has defrauded other jewellers in the city using similar tactics.