Pune Couple Arrested for Gold Investment Fraud Duping Investors of Over Rs 1.5 Crore

The pitch from Hemant Dattatray Kharote and his wife Rupali was deliberately irresistible: gold at Rs 60,000 per tola, no making charges, with photos of ornaments and biscuits scrolled across a phone screen to make it feel real. For a decade, it worked. Bharati Vidyapeeth police arrested the Katraj couple on the Mumbai-Pune highway in late March 2026, ending a scheme that investigators say ran from 2016 and left investors short by more than Rs 1.5 crore.

The Kharotes operated Avni Jewellers in Dhankawadi, a neighbourhood in Pune's southern belt. The business gave the fraud its architecture: a shop name, physical jewellery to photograph, and a plausible cover for why their gold prices undercut the market. Police say the couple collected money from victims under the promise of below-rate gold delivery, then never delivered. The phone-based photo presentations were central to their method, investigators said, building just enough confidence to encourage larger investments.

The case was formally registered at Bharati Vidyapeeth police station on March 7, 2026, after an initial complaint exposed the scheme. Investigators quickly established that the deception extended well beyond one victim. As the full scale became clear, police invoked the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act of 1999, a statute specifically designed to prosecute schemes that solicit public money under false investment premises. The MPID Act empowers authorities to attach accused assets, significantly raising the legal stakes for both Hemant, 45, and Rupali, 38.

By the time the case was registered, the couple had already fled. Tracking them required a focused digital investigation: mobile data analysis and cab ride records placed them in transit on the Mumbai-Pune highway, where police intercepted and made the arrests.

The fraud's longevity, a full ten years of operation through what appeared to be a functioning retail jewellery business, points to a scheme that grew gradually through referrals and repeat transactions within trusted social circles. Bharati Vidyapeeth police are continuing the investigation and have asked anyone who transacted with Avni Jewellers to come forward.