GOLD HAUL3.25 kg yellow metalseized from drum atBunty Kothari’s house

Staff Reporter

NAGPUR

police, on Monday, raided the house of Bunty alias Dinesh Maheshchandra Kothari in Gondia and recovered staggering 3.25 kilograms of gold concealed in a drum. The gold belongs to the on-line gaming fraudster Sontu alias Ananth Navratan Jain, police said.A top police official said that Kothari was arrested by the police on Sunday. He spilled beans and revealed crucial information leading to recovery of the valuable assets. It has come to the light that on August 1, police were preparing to search four lockers of Sontu and his family members at Axis Bank in Gondia. Sontu hatched the conspiracy with bank manager Ankesh Khandelwal and Dr Gaurav Bagga through an intermediary, Ankit Mishra, a bank manager in Bhandara.

A bank account and locker were opened in the name of Dr Gaurav Bagga and Garima Bagga, through which gold and cash were transferred from Sontu’s family locker. The cash and gold were amassed to such an extent that three new lockers became jammed with valuables. As a result, Khandelwal handed over 3.25 kg of gold and over Rs six crore in cash to Kothari who concealed the gold in a drum at his house while the cash was funneled to Sontu in Dubai via a hawala trader from Gondia, the official claimed. This cash was used by Sontu in the legal battles. The official claimed that Sontu had initially promised Rs four crore commission to Khandelwal for his assistance in transferring funds to different lockers.

However, when Khandelwal demanded his commission, Sontu not only refused but also resorted to threats. Sontu even threatened him with sister of Khandelwal. On Monday, Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar convened a meeting with top officials of Axis Bank and informed them that a forensic examination of the lockers would be conducted to gather evidence against the accused parties. Additionally, police are planning to recreate the events that transpired at the bank on that fateful day. Ankit Mishra, who had set the deal between Khandelwal and Sontu, will also be booked as accused in the case.