The owner of city-based gold jewellery was duped by two of his employees.
The two employees assured the owner they would procure seized gold from Delhi customs officials and made away with Rs 17.5 lakh.
Judistra Mistry (33), owner of the jewellery in Nagarapet, filed a complaint on February 19 at the Halasuru Gate police station against the staff in question.
In his complaint to the police, Mistry said Saicharan and Mithun lured him saying they knew a customs official at the Delhi airport, who can sell them seized gold from South Africa for a throwaway price. Trusting the staff, Mistry handed over Rs 7.5 lakh in advance and sent the two employees to Delhi to get the gold.
Two days later, the duo called him and said they were caught by the police with the unaccounted gold. The cops are demanding Rs 10 lakh for their release, they told Mistry.
A shocked Mistry transferred Rs 10 lakh, through an online transaction to an account mentioned by Saicharan and waited for the duo’s return.
The fraud came to light when the two employees did not return to the city. Their mobile phones remained switched off. The Halasuru Gate police have launched a manhunt for the two, trying to trace them based on their call records.