School principal duped over buried gold and silver:Illiterate driver cheats him of one crore; exploiting greed and fear of arrest

In Narmadapuram, a college principal was defrauded of more than ₹1 crore after being lured with claims of 7 kg of gold buried underground. The fraud was carried out by an illiterate driver who spun an elaborate fictional story with multiple characters. In his fabricated narrative, he staged murders, created fear of arrest, and even arranged a fake “principal” who was supposedly jailed to save the real one. He also portrayed the victim’s own brother as an enemy. The principal became so entangled in the driver’s imaginary plot and so frightened that he followed every instruction given to him. He did not discuss the matter even with his wife or son. To avoid arrest and jail, he handed over money to the accused from his own, his wife’s and his son’s bank accounts, his GPF funds, and by mortgaging jewellery. Noticing his stress, his wife and son approached police. The principal trusted the fabricated story so completely that he initially refused to believe even the police. Officers had to work for nearly 20 days to convince him. The accused has now been jailed, and another cheating complaint against him has surfaced. Bhaskar spoke to the victim and police to understand the full sequence of events. Read this report of trust and betrayal. Case-1 Created Fictional Characters to Deceive the Principal In July 2024, 30-year-old Ankit met a government college principal and introduced himself as a driver searching for a rented room. The principal rented him a room at his Kalika Nagar house and was impressed by his behaviour. Whenever the principal needed to travel, he called Ankit to drive. Frequent interaction led to personal and professional conversations between them. On condition of anonymity, the principal said Ankit’s plan was to first gain his trust, and he succeeded. Whenever they were alone, Ankit would talk about occult practices, hidden treasure or similar stories. One day he claimed a saint he knew in Ujjain had told him that 7 kg of gold was buried in the principal’s Kalika Nagar house where he lived as a tenant. The principal initially laughed it off, but Ankit kept repeating the claim and tried to convince him the gold was real. He even said that if the principal spent just ₹2 lakh, he would get the saint to retrieve the bundle of gold. This is how the process of showing fear began Ankit repeatedly insisted it was only ₹2 lakh for 7 kg gold buried in his house. Influenced by him, the principal withdrew ₹2 lakh cash and handed it over. A day or two later, Ankit asked him to accompany him to the rented house. That night he dug inside a room and after about an hour produced a bundle, claiming it contained 7 kg gold. The principal panicked, fearing police action. Before he could react, Ankit reassured him and told him to keep it secret, take the bundle home and store it safely, saying they would divide the gold later. When the principal refused, Ankit insisted it belonged to him since it was found in his house and warned that refusing could create trouble and even attract police attention. He also warned not to open it until permission came from the saint in Ujjain, claiming the family could go blind or die if it was opened earlier. Frightened, the principal stored the bundle in his cupboard without checking it. About a week later, Ankit returned claiming Ujjain police had learned about the excavation and were coming to arrest them. He offered to hide it and took the bundle along with money for “disposing” of it. Maharaj’s murder, arrest of fake person According to the principal, he was by then completely trapped. A few days later Ankit claimed police had arrested the saint and others with the gold and that they had named the principal. He demanded money to “manage” the case, sometimes online, sometimes cash. Later he said the saint had produced a fake man posing as the principal who had been arrested instead, and ₹20 lakh would be needed to pay him. The principal managed ₹5 lakh and gave it. After some time Ankit returned claiming the saint had been murdered near the Shipra river and the principal’s name had surfaced in the case. Terrified, he again paid large sums. He said – Maharaj’s wife has gained powers, you just arrange the money The principal said Ankit later told him the saint’s wife now possessed mystical powers after his death and would fix everything. He said she was arranging bail for the fake jailed principal and needed money for it. Payments continued in this name. One day Ankit claimed the fake principal was released on bail but was demanding a house to keep silent. Otherwise he would reveal the real principal’s name to police. To prevent this, the principal paid more. By this point he had paid about ₹1 crore. Ankit then said the money spent so far could be recovered because the seized gold would be returned through court if the case ended. More money was taken in the name of a lawyer. Later Ankit claimed the court had handed the gold to the saint’s wife and she would soon deliver it. The principal said Ankit manipulated him so thoroughly that he trusted him blindly. He was told not to share anything with family because the entire conspiracy, including the gold and the Ujjain case, had allegedly been planned by his own brother. Believing this, he told no one. Over about 18 months, Ankit extracted ₹1,04,14,150 by misleading him and threatening arrest. The money came from personal funds, family accounts and loans taken against pledged jewellery. Case-2: Became brother-in-law, cheated by tempting with gold Accused Ankit Sharma also trapped Amit Tiwari of Agnihotri Colony in a similar story. According to Tiwari, Ankit used to visit his oil shop on Kalika Nagar Road and gradually befriended him. He addressed him as brother-in-law to build trust. Between March and June he borrowed money on different pretexts—first ₹2 lakh, then more in the name of rituals for a gold bundle. Gradually the borrowed amount rose to ₹15 lakh, taken partly online and partly in cash. He even took ₹1 lakh claiming it was an offering for a deity. When asked for money back, he said – Will return as soon as gold is sold When the amount became large, Tiwari asked for repayment. Ankit claimed he had 6.8 kg gold that he planned to sell and would return the money after selling it. He never repaid anything. Debt forced Tiwari to sell his bike and shut his shop. When he realised he had been cheated, he went to the police station carrying a plate Ankit had given him as “gold,” which turned out to be iron. There he learned about the crore-rupee fraud involving the principal. Principal’s family members said – became suspicious when asked for borrowed money he principal lives with his wife, son and daughter-in-law. His son runs a restaurant business. The family noticed stress and sudden behavioural changes over the past month. He would get irritated if they discussed anything. Relatives later told them he had been borrowing money. Since he and his son both earned, the reason puzzled them. They asked him, but he avoided answering. They also discovered jewellery had been mortgaged for loans, increasing suspicion. The son decided to approach police and contacted ASI Sanjay Raghuvanshi at Kotwali police station. Fearing the father might panic if called to the station, police and the son quietly gathered evidence for about 20 days. Investigation revealed Ankit’s trap, after which the truth was explained to the principal. People who know Ankit say he had a habit of such acts from earlier but was never caught because they were minor. They believe he gathered information about the principal beforehand and deliberately rented a room with him to target him. Despite owning a house in the city, he stayed there and always agreed to drive whenever called. He bought a Scorpio using the cheated money and started using it himself. Vehicles, gold and houses bought with fraud money Police said accused Ankit Sharma, son of Vipin Sharma from Adarsh Nagar ITI area, is uneducated and lives with his wife and mother. Earlier he had no vehicle and worked wherever someone needed a driver. With the cheated money he bought a Scorpio, a Bullet motorcycle, 3 tola gold and two houses. After receiving large sums he developed a gambling habit, travelling by car to nearby towns to stake ₹1–2 lakh at a time. According to Kotwali station in-charge Kanchan Singh Thakur, documents of two houses, a bike and the Scorpio have been seized. Another cheating complaint against him has been received and is under investigation. The accused is currently in jail. Ankit bought car and house with fraud money According to police, Ankit, son of Vipin Sharma resident of Adarsh Nagar ITI Narmadapuram is not educated. He has wife and mother in his family. He did not have his own car, whenever someone called for a driver, he would go. With the fraud money, he had bought a Scorpio, a Bullet, 3 tolas of gold and two houses. When he got a large sum from fraud, he became addicted to gambling. He would travel to Betul and Nandner by car to fulfill his hobby. He would bet anywhere from one to two lakh rupees there. According to Kotwali Police Station in-charge Kanchan Singh Thakur – documents of two houses, bike and Scorpio have been recovered from the accused. Another complaint of fraud has been received against the accused, they are investigating that as well. The accused is currently in jail.