Rs 1.29 Crore Silver ‘Heist’ in Raipur Fake; UP Broker Staged Robbery to Cover Betting Losses

Raipur

The sensational report of a Rs 1.29 crore silver robbery at gunpoint in Raipur has been exposed as a fake incident. The businessman who reported the crime, Rahul Goyal, a broker from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, confessed to the police that he fabricated the entire story.

Goyal, who works as a silver jewellery broker, staged the “heist” to cover up heavy financial losses sustained from online betting.

Goyal was a broker for an Agra-based company, taking orders and supplying silver jewellery on credit. On Saturday, 4 October, Goyal reported to the City Kotwali Police that unidentified men had forcibly entered his apartment in Sadar Bazaar late at night.

He claimed the assailants knocked on the door, entered, held him at gunpoint, assaulted him with a knife, covered his mouth with a cloth until he passed out, tied his hands and feet, and stole 86 kg of silver jewellery. He also alleged the robbers took the CCTV camera’s DVR before escaping from the balcony using a rope.

Police investigations later revealed that Goyal had lost a huge amount of money in online betting. He confessed to plotting the false robbery to avoid having to repay the cost of the consignment to the company and to compensate for his betting losses.

In his First Information Report (FIR), the accused, Rahul Goyal, who is originally from Aligarh (UP), told the following fabricated story:

He runs a company named Shiva Traders in Raipur and works as a C&F agent for an Agra-based silver company. He receives a commission of ₹500 per kilogram.

He had brought 200 kg of silver to Raipur for the Diwali season. He claimed 100 kg had been sent back to Agra and 14 kg had been sold, leaving 86 kg of silver for outstanding orders.

He claimed he was asleep around 11 pm on Friday when he woke up around 3 am to a knock on the door. He opened it, thinking it was one of his two neighbours, who are also businessmen from Agra.

Two masked men were standing outside. One of them entered, pointed a country-made pistol (katta) at him, and when he resisted, the second assailant attacked him with a knife and covered his mouth with a handkerchief, leading to him passing out.

Goyal claimed he woke up at 10 am to find himself tied up. After freeing himself, he discovered the 86 kg of silver jewellery missing.

The police have confirmed that the entire narrative was a ruse orchestrated by Goyal. The City Kotwali police will issue a detailed statement on the matter today.