Bengaluru jewellery scam leaves families reeling

Bengaluru

In yet another case of financial fraud that has left Bengaluru’s most vulnerable reeling, a jewellery scam in Doddamavalli has exposed how poor Muslims continue to bear the brunt of white-collar crime. In early April, the owners of a jewellery store allegedly absconded with customers’ gold worth around ?3 crore, leaving behind shock, confusion and shattered trust. Sandeep Jain and Vikram Jain, owners of Ridhi Siddhi Jewels in Doddamavalli, had been part of the area for eight years.

Originally from Rajasthan, the brothers ran the shop and had established themselves within the local business community. However, in the first week of April, they abruptly shut the store and fled the city, leaving customers without access to their jewellery and savings. Aggrieved customers reached out to local social media influencers to highlight their plight. One customer, a Muslim woman from a low-income background, said: “He had about 15 grams of my jewellery. It was my daughter’s jewellery, which I had given to repay debts from her wedding. And I have paid at least a lakh as an interest amount.

Now we are in desperate need of our gold back and are heavily in debt. When I spoke to him, he gave all kinds of excuses and asked me to meet him in Bommanahalli, but he wasn’t there. He later said he was in court because of a case his wife had filed.” Customers subsequently approached the Kalasipalyam police and filed an FIR. The police have registered a case and are investigating. “The FIR has been registered, and we are investigating the case. The accused is absconding, and his phone is switched off, and we do not know where he is,” Inspector Neelagar of Kalasipalyam Police Station told News Trail.

Victims, many of them domestic workers from economically weaker backgrounds, said they had purchased the jewellery with years of hard-earned savings. Now, with their gold gone and little hope of recovery, they say they are left with few options. This incident is the latest in a series of financial fraud cases affecting the Muslim community in Bengaluru, including the IMA scam and the Amanath Bank case. Several such cases have also involved politically connected individuals and wealthy members of the community.

“Muslim entrepreneurs and wealthy individuals have used such institutions for personal gain. Politicians and wealthy builders took crores from a bank using overdrafts. If ordinary people ask for the same, they are denied. So, they have drained the community,” said advocate Rahmatulla Kotwal. Such incidents have once again raised concerns about the need for greater financial literacy and awareness within the community, especially as many schemes exploit religious sentiments, such as the promise of halal finance.

Sharad, an advocate, said awareness remains the only safeguard. “The best protection is to remain aware that such cases are happening. It is usually poor people who are most affected and get duped. In past cases like the IMA scam, some of those involved had political connections and managed to escape. People should not be swayed by emotions,” he said.