Currency notes with Anupam Kher pic used to con bullion trader of 2.1 kg gold in Gujarat, cops launch investigations

The notes seized by the police. Pic/X

A bullion trader was allegedly duped of 2.1 kgs of gold after unidentified con men handed over counterfeit currency featuring the face of noted actor Anupam Kher in Gujarat. The Ahmedabad police has launched investigations into the matter after receiving a complaint, an official said, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, the transaction at the end has left a local bullion trader identified as Mehul Thakkar high and dry and duped of 2.1 kgs of gold.

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Mehul Thakkar filed a complaint with the Navrangpura police station and narrated the entire incident to the police, detailing how he was tricked into accepting 26 bundles of counterfeit Rs 500 notes.

The fake currency, which bore the misspelled label "Resole Bank of India," was presented to his staff in exchange for 2.1 kgs of gold on September 24, as per the PTI.

An official said that the saga began when Mehul Thakkar, a gold dealer with a penchant for shiny things, received a call from one Prashant Patel, the manager of a jewellery shop whom the bullion trader knew, the news agency reported on Monday.

Patel was eager to buy 2.1 kgs of gold, and after some haggling, they settled on a price of Rs 1.60 crore.

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On September 24, Mehul Thakkar instructed his staff to meet Patel at an 'angadia pedhi' (Hawala) office, a traditional money-moving service.

When they arrived, they were greeted not by the glamorous world of gold trade but by three "gentlemen" who handed over bundles of what they claimed were Rs 500 notes, the official said, the PTI reported.

The unsuspecting staff was told to count the 'money' using a machine provided by the trio.

Two of them then went out with the gold biscuits on the pretext of fetching the remaining Rs 30 lakh from a neighbouring office, while a third one stayed on.

When the staff sent by Thakkar noticed the currency notes were fake after taking them out from plastic wrap for counting, they questioned the third person, who told them he was there just to deliver the counting machine for 'angadia pedhi', the complainant told the police.

It also later came to light that the angadia office was opened by the accused persons two days before the incident, as per the complaint.

An FIR has since been filed against the two unidentified suspects, and police have launched an investigation to track down the culprits behind this unusual con.

(with PTI inputs)