RANCHI: In a real-life recreation of Akshay Kumar starrer 'Special 26', five men posing as GST officials raided a jeweller’s shop at Dhanwar in Jharkhand's Giridhih.
During the 'raid', the owner failed to produce GST documents after which the imposters 'seized' jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh and forced the owner into their SUV and later dropped him several kilometres away in Deoghar.
According to family members, the jeweller kept pleading submissively and even offered to settle the matter through a monetary compromise, but the “officer” refused to accept it.
According to available information, the accused arrived in a Scorpio. One of them was dressed in a police uniform, while another wore a black coat and trousers. Upon entering the workshop, they introduced themselves as GST officials and demanded GST-related documents from the artisans, also questioning them about where their jewellery was hallmarked.
Under the pretext of verifying documents, the imposters compelled the artisans to open an almirah and stuffed the valuable jewellery kept inside into their bags.
Furthermore, the criminals also took the owner along with them, saying that the seized materials needed to be tested and that he would be released thereafter. Having executed the entire crime in merely 15 minutes, all the accused fled the spot.
After the incident, other staff present in the shop with the help of locals, informed his family members. When Harihar did not return even after considerable time had passed, his worried relatives approached Dhanwar Police Station and narrated the entire incident to Station In-charge Satendra Pal. After a brief inquiry, it was confirmed that no official GST team had visited Harihar’s residence, raising strong suspicion of fraud.
The matter was promptly reported to Superintendent of Police Dr Bimal, who constituted a special investigation team led by Khori Mahua Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Rajendra Prasad. The team launched a probe, initiated efforts to trace Harihar through his mobile phone and sought assistance from the technical unit.
Meanwhile, the perpetrators pushed Harihar Saw out of a moving vehicle near the AIIMS facility at Devipur in Deoghar and fled towards West Bengal. Police teams reached Deoghar, safely recovered him, and immediately began a search operation to nab the culprits.
Police also asserted that Harihas Saw has been recovered and is safe. “Posing as GST officials, a group of fraudsters duped gold trader Harihar Saw. He is safe, and efforts are on to arrest the accused,” said Khori Mahua SDPO, Rajendra Prasad.