Hyderabad: Mahankali police arrested four members of an interstate gang in the Mahankali silver cheating case involving fraud worth ₹15 lakh.
The case was registered on March 25, 2026, following a complaint from a Secunderabad-based silver trader. He reported that two men posed as regular customers and exchanged fake silver for genuine bars.
According to police, the accused brought three raw silver bars with claimed purity levels above 60%. They also showed a fabricated purity certificate from a local refinery.
Trusting the documents and prior dealings, the trader handed over 6.35 kg of refined silver. However, later testing revealed that the supplied material contained no silver.
Police said the Mahankali silver cheating gang used a repeated method to gain trust. Initially, they conducted genuine exchanges to build credibility. Later, they supplied fake material with forged certificates.
Mahankali silver cheating gang used trust-based fraud method
Further investigation revealed similar offences in other cases. Two additional complaints were registered at Mahankali and Market police stations. The total loss in these cases exceeded 12 kg of silver.
The accused were identified as residents of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Police arrested the main accused in Agra on April 20 and secured a transit warrant.
Subsequently, two more suspects were arrested in Agra, while another was held in Etawah. The fifth accused was arrested earlier in Madhya Pradesh in a related case.
Police seized 8.4 kg of silver, ₹1.5 lakh cash, and multiple mobile phones from the accused. Investigators also confirmed their involvement in similar crimes across several states.
The Mahankali silver cheating gang had previously operated in Delhi, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. One accused also had a prior criminal record registered in Madhya Pradesh.
Officials said the arrests were made by a special team under senior officers of the Secunderabad zone. Further investigation is ongoing to trace additional links.