PUNE: Lured by the thought of buying gold at a cheap rate cost a Shirur-based farmer dearly. A newly appointed driver of the farmer’s earth mover, who had called him to Jambhe village in Mulshi taluka to finalise a gold purchase deal, fled with the bag containing Rs7 lakh on March 17. The 25-year-old farmer on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Hinjewadi police.
Balkrishna Sawant, senior inspector of the Hinjewadi police, told TOI that the complainant from Shirur also owned an earth mover. “On March 13, he appointed a man from Parbhani district as an extra driver on the recommendation of his regular driver,” Sawant said.
The driver worked on that day and took leave the next day to see a relative. On March 15, the man contacted the farmer’s driver and told him that his brother-in-law had found gold on a farm in Pune.
The driver told the farmer and he decided to buy it. The farmer put together his savings and borrowed some money from a friend. “On March 17, the complainant, his father, a relative and the driver came to Jambhe. Around 7.30pm the man met them and took the bag containing Rs 7 lakh. He said he would be back with the gold. When he did not return with the gold, the farmer sent his driver to check but they found that the man had fled with the cash,” Sawant said.
A case has been registered under sections 381 (theft by a clerk or servant of property in possession of master) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
