Delhi man dupes fiancee of 1 kg gold, spends proceeds on buying property

A 30-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stealing his fiancee’s jewellery, replacing a one kg gold bar she gave him with a fake one and spending the proceeds on buying property in Delhi and Uttarakhand, police said on Thursday.

Nitesh Verma, a resident of Delhi’s Krishna Nagar, was tracked down to a hotel in Ghaziabad’s Kaushambi and arrested on Tuesday.

The complainant and Verma got engaged in February last year.

“Shortly after their engagement, several items of jewellery, including three gold sets, four diamond sets, bangles, rings, a kada, and gold and silver coins, went missing from her house. Suspicion fell on Verma but he denied involvement at the time and no evidence surfaced,” DCP (Central) Nidhin Valsan said.

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The case took a turn in July this year when the woman entrusted him with a one kg ancestral gold bar meant for their marriage expenses, he said.

“She later discovered that Verma had deceitfully swapped it with a fake one. When confronted, he allegedly confessed and promised to return the value of the stolen gold and jewellery but soon went into hiding, switching off his phone,” the DCP said.

Based on the woman’s complaint, a case was registered at DBG Road police station and a special team was formed to investigate the matter.

“Through detailed analysis of calls records, the absconding accused was traced to a Ghaziabad hotel. A raid was conducted on Tuesday and he was arrested,” the DCP said.

During interrogation, Verma admitted that he cut the gold bar into small pieces and sold them at different locations.

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With the proceeds, he purchased a Rs 42 lakh plot in Dehradun, gave around Rs 70 to 80 lakh to his parents who in turn bought plots in Delhi and Uttarakhand and acquired property in Haridwar and Mussoorie. He also splurged on luxury hotels in Mussoorie and Kerala, police said.

Verma, who has studied till Class 10, claimed to be in the jewellery business.