Alappuzha: The Pulincunnu Police on Saturday arrested Dinesh Shah (42), a native of Bihar, who is believed to be the key link in a state-wide racket involved in stealing gold under the pretext of polishing it.
“They possess a certain chemical solution which they claim can make gold ornaments look as good as new,” said a police official. “But this solution actually dissolves the gold, which they then separate using another chemical formula.”
The accused would visit unsuspecting homes and offer to polish gold ornaments at a cheap price. To gain their trust, he would first demonstrate the effectiveness of his solution by polishing brass utensils.
“Once he had gained their trust, he would take the gold ornaments and put them in the solution. A good portion of the gold would dissolve into it. He would then remove the ornaments, wrap them in paper, and return them, specifically asking the victims not to open the package for two hours, claiming it would affect the shine. By the time they opened it, he would have fled,” the official explained.
Dinesh Shah was arrested after a Pulicunnu native woman filed a case on Saturday, claiming she lost her gold chain in this manner. Shah had arrived at her house at 10.45 in the morning, first cleaning a brass lamp to gain her trust before taking her gold chain.
The arrest was made by a police team led by Inspector Yesudas AL, with Sub Inspector Bijukuttan, Assistant Sub Inspector Manoj, Senior Civil Police Officers Sunimol and Pratheesh Kumar, and Civil Police Officers Sumesh, Praveen Chandran, and Anoop Chandran. Dinesh Shah is also accused in similar cases in Palakkad district. He was presented before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
