Jewellery shop owner arrested for melting gold worth Rs. 1.50 crore

Mysore/Mysuru: With gold prices soaring by the day, incidents of cheating in the name of gold through attractive schemes have risen considerably. Amid this trend, the Police have cautioned the public to remain vigilant against fraudulent schemes.

A Vijayanagar-based gold shop owner has been arrested for allegedly cheating customers by offering gold loans at unusually low interest rates and later absconding. The arrested accused has been identified as T. Yogesh (30), Proprietor of ‘Star Gold Company,’ located at Trinetra Circle in Vijayanagar 2nd Stage in city.

According to the Police, Yogesh advertised gold loans at very low interest rates, following which customers pawned their gold jewellery and availed loans.

Yogesh allegedly melted the pledged jewellery and sold the gold, thereby cheating around 15 customers.

The accused is alleged to have made away with about 850 grams of gold jewellery, valued at approximately Rs. 1.50 crore, before going into hiding. A case was subsequently registered and a manhunt was launched to trace him.

A case was registered in November 2025 at Vijayanagar Police Station under Crime No. 161/2025, invoking sections related to cheating and criminal breach of trust under the   Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 314, 316, 317, 316(2), 318(4), 319 and 3(5).

Despite several notices being issued directing him to cooperate with the investigation, Yogesh allegedly failed to appear and remained at large.

On Friday, the Police traced and arrested him, produced him before a Court and he was remanded to 14 days Judicial Custody, the Police said.

The Police have urged the public to remain vigilant against fraudulent schemes and to verify the credibility of financial institutions before pledging valuables.