Artisan flees Gujarat with Rs 1 crore worth gold; police track him down to West Bengal

AHMEDABAD: A goldsmith allegedly fled with nearly 660 grams of pure gold worth over a crore rupees after taking it from a jeweller in Surat on the pretext of making ornaments. Sarthana Police traced the accused to West Bengal and arrested him.

The accused has been identified as Biltu Balram Samanta, a native of Kolkata who was residing in Surat. Police brought him back to Surat and began legal proceedings to recover the allegedly misappropriated gold.

According to the complaint, Sandip Limbani, the proprietor of a jewellery shop in Surat, met Biltu about a year ago through a mutual acquaintance. During their initial meetings, Biltu claimed that he had a team of skilled artisans. He also showed Limbani jewellery designs on his mobile phone and said he had set up a workshop in Mahidharpura, Surat. He then sought work orders from the jeweller.

Biltu initially completed several assignments satisfactorily and gained Limbani’s trust. Later, they agreed that the accused would make ornaments using 24-carat pure gold supplied by Limbani in multiple instalments.

However, the ornaments were neither completed nor returned even after considerable time. Suspicious of the delay, Limbani visited Biltu’s workshop and found it locked. His mobile phone was also switched off..150 km away, Balangir police bust gang with Rs 3 cr in stolen gold and silver.