Stunned residents of Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, learned of a revenue inspector’s 45-lakh loss to a deceptive ghee seller from Gujarat and her Uttar Pradesh-linked accomplices. This saga of trust betrayed offers lessons in scam prevention.
Manju Rathore’s ghee deliveries spanned 6-7 years, convincing the officer of her reliability despite false Rajasthan claims—her real home was Gujarat.
Approaching with 50-tola fake gold pre-Holi for ‘daughter’s wedding jewels,’ she was rescheduled. March 7 brought her team, who leveraged insider knowledge of the officer’s gold reserves to swap 200 grams of real ornaments (bangles, chains, rings, tops) and 15 lakhs cash for counterfeits.
Post-departure realization led to jeweler checks confirming fraud. Immediate FIR at Sarguja station triggered BNS probe with CCTV and evidence analysis.
Gujarat’s Rajkot delivered Manju and Santosh arrests, with 7.78 lakhs cash and 50g gold. UP’s Prayagraj yielded Sunita and Kamla, adding 12.53 lakhs and another bangle—20.31 lakhs and 100g total recovered.
Confessions point to a Prayagraj jeweler buyer for remaining loot; police close in. The con’s blueprint—years of access, emotional manipulation, precise timing—signals a professional operation spanning states.
