Seven years of doorstep trust. One morning's deception. And Rs 45 lakh gone in minutes.

In a brazen and meticulously planned confidence fraud, a woman from Gujarat who had been selling homemade ghee at the home of a Revenue Inspector in Ambikapur for nearly seven years used that trust to pull off a Rs 45 lakh heist — swapping fake gold biscuits for real jewellery and cash meant for the officer's daughter's wedding. All four accused have since been arrested from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

The Seven-Year Setup

The victim, Habib Khan, serves as Revenue Inspector (RI) at the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation in Surguja district, Chhattisgarh. For six to seven years, a woman named Manju Rathore had been a regular visitor to his home — coming door-to-door to sell desi ghee. She introduced herself as a resident of Kishangarh, Rajasthan. She was, in fact, from Gujarat.

Over the years, her consistent presence and routine visits earned her complete trust in the household. She was seen as a familiar face — a vendor who had become almost a part of the family's daily life. That trust became the weapon she ultimately used against them.

The Con — Fake Gold for Real Gold and Cash

In the days before Holi, Manju arrived at the officer's home with 50 tola (approximately 500 grams) of what appeared to be gold biscuits. She told the RI that she had a wedding at her home and needed the gold biscuits converted into jewellery. She asked if he could arrange this. The RI told her he would help after Holi.

On March 7, Manju returned — this time with two associates. She was aware that the officer had already had jewellery made for his own daughter's upcoming wedding. She presented the fake gold biscuits to the RI and told him that her wedding was urgent and could not wait. She asked him to exchange her gold biscuits for the ready-made jewellery he had prepared for his daughter's wedding, along with Rs 15 lakh in cash, promising she would return everything once her wedding was over.

The RI, trusting a woman he had known for years, handed over 20 tola of genuine gold jewellery — including earrings, bangles, a necklace and a ring totalling approximately 200 grams — along with Rs 15 lakh in cash. Manju and her associates left with the jewellery and money.

The Fake Gold Discovery — and the FIR

Within a short time of the gang leaving, the RI grew suspicious. He took the gold biscuits to a nearby jeweller for testing. They were fake — not gold at all. He immediately filed a complaint at Kotwali Police Station. Police registered a case under Sections 318(4), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Arrested Across Two States — Gujarat and UP

Ambikapur CSP Rahul Bansal led the investigation, which relied on CCTV footage from the scene and technical surveillance. Once the accused were identified, police teams were dispatched across state lines.

From Rajkot, Gujarat, police arrested the main accused Manju Rathore (44) and her associate Santosh Rathore (45). Both confessed to the crime. From their possession, police recovered Rs 7.78 lakh in cash and a gold bangle weighing approximately 50 grams.

Following leads from their interrogation, a second police team travelled to Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, where they arrested Sunita Gujarati (35) and Kamla Gujarati (45) — both also originally from Gujarat. From them, Rs 12.53 lakh in cash and another 50-gram gold bangle were seized.

In total, all four accused were found carrying Rs 20.31 lakh in cash and two gold bangles weighing approximately 100 grams combined. All four have been produced before the Kotwali court and sent to judicial custody.

The Missing Gold — A Jeweller Being Hunted

The accused revealed during interrogation that the remaining gold jewellery stolen from the RI's home had been sold to a jeweller in Prayagraj. Police are now actively searching for that jeweller, who may have knowingly or unknowingly purchased stolen gold from the gang.

A Travelling Fraud Gang With a Tested Formula

All four accused were from Gujarat and regularly travelled to other states under the cover of selling milk and ghee — a mobile lifestyle that allowed them to build trust in multiple locations before executing their scams. The formula is dangerously effective: years of routine, low-value transactions to build complete confidence, followed by a single high-value deception using fake gold.

A Second Gold Scam in CG — Same Trick, Different Victim

This case is not isolated. In a separate incident in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district, a villager named Umend Sahu was cheated of Rs 10 lakh by acquaintances who lured him with the promise of cheap gold biscuits allegedly found during excavation. Five fake gold biscuits were handed over in exchange for the cash. Police have registered a fraud case against four accused and the investigation is ongoing.

The pattern is clear: fake gold scams are on the rise across Chhattisgarh. Citizens must never exchange cash or valuables for gold biscuits without independent verification by a certified jeweller — regardless of how well they know the seller.