Husband-Wife Duo Held In Pune For ₹1.5 Crore Fake Gold Investment Scam

Pune: A husband and wife have been arrested by the Bharati Vidyapeeth Police in Pune for allegedly cheating multiple citizens of more than Rs 1.5 crore by offering gold at unusually low prices. The accused had been absconding for weeks before being traced and caught on the Mumbai-Pune highway.

The arrested accused have been identified as Hemant Dattatray Kharote (45), a resident of Katraj, and his wife Rupali Hemant Kharote (38). The case was registered on 7th March 2026, and police later found that several other victims had also been cheated in a similar manner.

According to police reports, the couple operated a jewellery business under the name Avni Jewellers in Dhankawadi. They lured people by promising gold at a rate of Rs 60,000 per tola without making any charges. They showed photos of gold ornaments and biscuits on their phones to gain the trust of victims and convinced them to invest large sums of money.

During the investigation, police invoked sections under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act of 1999 (MPID Act) after discovering the scale of the fraud. Officials said the accused had been running the scam for several years and had duped many people between 2016 and 2026.

After the case was registered, the couple fled Pune and kept changing their location across different states. To avoid arrest, they used nine mobile phones and 12 SIM cards. They also travelled using app-based cab services like Ola and Uber to stay untraceable.

Traced & Detained On Expressway...

Police tracked their movement through technical analysis of mobile data and social media activity. A key breakthrough came when officers traced an Ola cab driver’s mobile number. Based on this input, a trap was laid, and the couple was arrested while travelling on the Mumbai-Pune highway.

Senior Police Inspector Rahul Khilare said that Hemant Kharote worked as a valuer in a bank and used his position to gain the confidence of victims. Police have received multiple complaints in the case and have appealed to other victims to come forward.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of senior officials, with a team led by Senior Police Inspector Rahul Khilare and Assistant Police Inspector Vishwas Bhabad. Further investigation is ongoing.