Elderly woman tricked into removing jewellery on charity pretext:Police trail suspects to Shivpuri, 5th case in 7 days in Gwalior

A gang of fraudsters continues to operate in Gwalior, with an elderly woman in the Murar area becoming their latest victim. Two young men allegedly duped her of jewellery and cash by luring her with the promise of charity. This is the fifth such incident in the past seven days, putting police on alert. The victim, 60-year-old Ramvati, wife of Lakkhu Kushwah and a resident of Sai Nagar, Lal Tipara under the Murar police station area, was targeted on Wednesday at around 3 pm. She was returning after buying a fan from Sadar Bazaar’s Saudagar Santar when two unidentified youths approached her on the way. The men stopped her and claimed that their employer had been blessed with a son after many years, and was distributing donations among the poor. They told Ramvati that she too could receive charity, drawing her into their trap. The two then took her near an electronics showroom and told her she needed to look poor in order to qualify for the donation. They asked her to remove her jewellery. Ramvati took off her mangalsutra, earrings, an Om pendant and kept them, along with ₹500 cash, inside her purse. The fraudsters then handed her four packets of Kurkure and, seizing the opportunity, quietly removed the jewellery and cash from her purse. Moments later, both accused fled the spot. When Ramvati checked her purse, she found her jewellery and money missing. She raised an alarm, drawing a crowd, after which police were informed. Police reached the spot and launched an investigation, scanning CCTV footage from nearby cameras. Based on the footage, they have traced clues about the suspects and have followed leads up to Shivpuri. Police said the accused could soon be arrested, which may also help crack other recent cheating cases reported in the city. According to Murar police station in-charge Maina Patel, a case has been registered in connection with the fraud committed in the name of charity, and a search is underway. The accused are expected to be arrested soon.