Aurangabad, March 18:
A Bengali craftsman fled away with 60 tolas of raw gold, given to him by two city jewellers for preparing the ornaments of various designs. The estimated cost of gold is around Rs 30 lakh. Meanwhile, the City Chowk police have registered an offence against the craftsman Shaikh Asadullah Shaikh Liyakat (temporary resident of Mominpura in Aurangabad and a native of Malba village in Wardhaman district of West Bengal) and have launched a massive hunt to arrest him.
It is learnt that Ajay Govardhandas Mevlani (45, a resident of the Cidco N-3 sector) runs jewellery shops in Kasari Bazaar and Mulamchi Bazaar. One and a half year ago, he came in contact with the above craftsman and since then, he gave the job of preparing the decorated ornaments to him. Generally, Asadullah would deliver the finished product (prepared ornaments) in 4-5 days to Mevlani and collect his due wages.
On March 5 evening, Mevlani handed over the gold weighing 35 tolas and seven grams to the craftsman. It includes gold bars and other ornaments to repair. When he did not return after 4-5 days, the jeweller got worried, and tried to contact him on his mobile phone, but was in vain as he had switched it off. He also went to his room in Mominpura, but it was locked from outside. When inquired, his neighbours informed Mevlani that he had gone to his native place. The jeweller then contacted Asadullah's father, who stays in Malba village (West Bengal), but he told him that Asadullah was here but left a few days ago. Mevlani then registered a complaint of duping against the craftsman at the City Chowk police station on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, it has also come to notice that the same craftsman had also collected 23 tolas of gold from another jeweller from the city. Kranti Chowk has told the jeweller to lodge a complaint. PSI Bhagwan Mujgule is investigating the case.