Thane, Marahashtra: A case was registered against the owners of a jewellery store chain here on Saturday for allegedly fleeing with crores of rupees invested by customers.
"We have registered a case against owners of Goodwin Jewellers. Around 300 people came to us and complained about the fraud committed by the store's Dombivali branch. It has committed a fraud of over Rs 10 crore [Rs 100 million]. We have sealed the outlet," Suresh Ahire, Senior Police Inspector at Dombivali Police Station, Thane told ANI.
Thane is a city just outside Mumbai, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
"All three are absconding and efforts are on to trace and apprehend them,” he added while speaking to the media
The jewellery store chain is owned by Sunil Nair and Sudhir Nair.
What is exactly going on?
Customers of Goodwin Jewellers gathered outside the store's Dombivali branch claiming that the outlet was not opened for some days before Diwali.
"We are coming to the shop for last four days. There is a notice which said that the shop will be closed for two days. They have fled away with our money. They refused to give us our money and said that they don't have it now. There are around 500 people who deposited their money in the store," a customer said.
Another investor, A Thomas said: "I have done a fixed deposit of Rs 2 lakh. As per their commitment, I came to the shop to pick up my gold but it was closed. Around 300 people gathered later and filed a complaint at the police station."
Who has been affected?
“The affected parties include those who invested in the jeweller’s gold schemes and suppliers of gold who are worried that they might not get their goods or money back," a wholesaler said to The Ecomic Times. He had reportedly provided gold to Goodwin.
About the group
The Goodwin group was founded by the Keralite brothers in 1992. It includes, according to their website, jewellery, security systems, developments, charitable trusts and 'bombay chains'.
- Inputs from ANI
