‘Dacoit dadis’ gang cheats Mumbai homemakers by selling fake gold

The Mumbai Police have sounded an alert after a gang comprising elderly women was found targeting homemakers across residential areas by posing as sellers of dairy products Two alleged gang members aged between 60 and 75 years cheated a family from Charkop Kandivli West of Rs 6 lakh by tempting them with fake gold at throwaway prices earlier this yearThe unidentified women who duped the Charkop family PicsBy Special ArrangementAccording to police the accused roam housing societies selling desi ghee curd and buttermilk to gain the trust of residents Once friendly relations are established they claim that gold was found during excavation work in agricultural fields in their native village and offer to sell it cheaply To convince victims they initially provide a small sample of genuine goldFamily dupedIn the Charkop case the accused first gave a 56yearold widow a onegram gold coin which a jeweller confirmed to be genuine Gaining confidence the victim later paid Rs 6 lakh for what she was told was half a kilogram of gold in the form of thin biscuits However these were later found to be made of brass and copperRealising she had been duped the woman approached the Charkop police station Police teams from Charkop and Palghar have launched a search operation to trace the accusedldquoThe accused sell dairy products such as desi ghee curd and buttermilk that are pure and priced lower than the market rate building trustrdquo a police officer saidMeenadevi Chauhan her son Durga Prasad and his wife Rinki residents of Charkop Kandivli West who were duped by the gang PICSSAMIULLAH KHANSpeaking to midday the complainant Meenadevi Chauhan said ldquoI first met the women on June 18 when they came to my housing society to sell desi ghee curd and buttermilk Apart from me several other residents also bought dairy products from them The quality of the ghee was very good and they started visiting regularly to sell it During this period I purchased around five kilogrammes of ghee from themrdquoChauhan added ldquoDuring our conversations they told me they were residents of Palghar and had purchased several plots of land there They claimed that while digging one such plot they found nearly five kilogrammes of gold which they were willing to sellrdquo ldquoThey also told me they could not sell the gold directly to a goldsmith or big trader as it would alert the authorities and the government would seize the entire stashrdquo she addedldquoOn June 23 they came again and offered to sell me 250 grammes of gold for Rs 5 to Rs 6 lakh which I refused On June 24 to gain my trust they gave me a onegramme gold coin I sold it to a goldsmith for Rs 10000 and later returned the amount to themrdquo Chauhan saidFake gold biscuits sold by the accused who they claim they had excavated them from a field in Palghar which they ownShe further stated ldquoOn July 18 after I received Rs 6 lakh in cash from a family acquaintance the two women again came to my house and convinced me to buy gold I handed over the entire amount and was given gold biscuits Later the same day when I showed the biscuits to a jeweller which were fakerdquoldquoThe gold sample that was given to me initially and the fake gold that was later handed over looked exactly the same That is why I believed the latter was genuine I thought that selling the gold would help me secure my old age but I never imagined that I would be cheated in this manner I have complete faith in God and the police that those women will be caught and my money will be recoveredrdquo she addedSonrsquos accountDurga Prasad Chauhan son of the victim told midday that the Rs 6 lakh handed over to the accused woman was money his late father had lent to someone nearly 14 years ago and was recently returned to his mother ldquoI was not aware that my mother had received this amount My mother and wife had informed me that a few women were visiting the house and talking about selling gold I had clearly warned them not to proceed and had even asked them to take photographs of the womenrdquo he saidDurga Prasadrsquos wife Rinki added that when the family asked the women for their mobile numbers they claimed they did not use mobile phones saying that phones could lsquoblastrsquo ldquoWhen I tried to take their photographs they initially refused and attempted to leave Despite this I managed to click a photo of one of them which has been handed over to the policerdquo she saidCop SpeakSenior Inspector Vinayak Chauhan Charkop police station said ldquoDuring the investigation we learnt that these women had carried out similar cheating incidents in North Mumbai the western suburbs and other areas We have circulated their photographs to police stations across Mumbai as well as outside the city A case has been registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and further investigation is underwayrdquo The police have urged citizens especially senior citizens and homemakers to remain vigilant and avoid falling for such ldquotoogoodtobetruerdquo offers involving gold or valuables