A US woman was allegedly duped by a jewellery shop owner in Rajasthan after she purchased jewels from him for a whopping Rs 6 crore and later found they were fake and worth only Rs 300.
According to police, Cherish, a US citizen, purchased the silver jewellery with gold polish from a shop at Johri Bazar in Jaipur. The ornaments were found to be counterfeit when she displayed them at an exhibition in the US in April this year, reported the Business Standard.
Cherish travelled to India and questioned Gaurav Soni, the shop owner. When he denied the allegations, she filed a police complaint and also sought assistance from the US embassy, the report said.
The Jaipur Police have launched an investigation while a search is on for Gaurav and his father Rajendra Soni, who have gone into hiding.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Bajrang Singh Shekhawat said a man named Nand Kishore, who allegedly issued a fake certificate of authenticity to the woman, has been arrested.
A few other reports claimed that Cherish met Gaurav on Instagram in 2022. Over the last two years, she paid Rs 6 crore for the artificial ornaments which she believed genuine.