Pune: PNG Jewellers’ Saurabh Gadgil Cheated Of Rs 1.6 Crore

Pune, January 20, 2021: MD & CEO at PNG Jewellers, Saurabh Gadgil, has lodged a complaint with Pune City police stating that a man cheated him of Rs 1.6 crore under the pretext of helping him get a loan of Rs 50 crore for opening a store in Chandigarh.

Based on a complaint from Gadgil, Vishrambaug police station has registered FIR against Rohitkumar Sharma (59) of Punjab. The incident took place between October 2018 to February 2019.

As per the FIR, the accused had met Gadgil at PNG Jewellers store on Laxmi Road and promised to help in business and open a branch of the store in Chandigarh. He took Rs 1.6 crore from Gadgil for processing fee and other charges for getting Rs 50 crore loan. However, Gadgil didn’t get the promised loan amount.

Amit Jitendra Vaidya, Head of Franchising, PNG Jewellers, said, “As part of the expansion plans for PNG Jewellers and to establish a strong retail store network in North India, PNG Jewellers was actively looking for franchisees to support their endeavor to establish the brand specifically in the states of Punjab and Haryana. Rohit Sharma, a resident of Chandigarh, approached us in 2018 to help generate interest in our brand through the franchisee route with relevant local investors.

The project required him to help raise investments of up to 50 crores for the purpose of setting up 4 – 5 franchisee stores. The deal with Rohit Sharma required us to pay an upfront brokerage of 2 percent. A total of Rs 1.6 crores was paid to Rohit Sharma in 2019, subject to a full refund in case the deliverables were not met by Sharma within a stipulated time frame. Security cheques to the tune of the sum paid were also taken by our management from Sharma.

When the deliverables were not met and the promises of Sharma fell apart, we decided to deposit the security cheques, which bounced. Hence we decided to go ahead and file the FIR with Pune Police in this matter. We are hoping for a quick resolution of the same.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Bachchan Singh said, “The FIR has been registered for offences under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) based on a complaint from Saurabh Gadgil of PNG Jewellers against accused for cheating to the tune of Rs 1.6 crore by promising loan of Rs 50 crores and assistance in the opening showroom. Further investigation is being done by Crime Branch unit-1 of Pune city.”