Hyderabad Police Arrest Four Over Fake Treasure Scam Worth Rs 1 Crore

Four men have been arrested for allegedly cheating 11 people of nearly Rs 1 crore by promising to uncover hidden treasure buried beneath their homes, Hyderabad Police said. The accused allegedly used the belief in “Gupta Nidhulu” or hidden treasures to convince victims that valuable riches were buried underground. Police said the suspects staged elaborate digging exercises and used fake gold-coated coins and other materials to make their claims appear genuine.

The accused have been identified as Mohd Munawar alias Munna, 36, a painter; Syed Ali Ashraf, 40, an electrician; Mohd Haji, 25, an auto driver; and Mohd Salman, 29, a bike mechanic. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police KS Rao, the four men are from different parts of Hyderabad and Medchal-Malkajgiri district. Investigators said the group allegedly approached people who could be persuaded that valuable treasure was hidden beneath their properties.

Police said the accused would first gain the confidence of potential victims and obtain permission to dig at their homes. They allegedly prepared the sites in advance by burying a sack containing coal and duplicate gold-coated coins. During the digging exercise, the suspects would reportedly recover the sack in front of the victims and claim that the objects were evidence of buried treasure. The staged discovery was allegedly designed to convince the victims that the promise of hidden riches was genuine.

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Investigators said the accused then told victims that the coal would gradually transform into gold through a special process. Believing the explanation, several people allegedly handed over large amounts of money to the group. The accused would then reportedly claim that the transformation required time before leaving the location. Police said the suspects subsequently disappeared with the money, leaving victims to realise that they had allegedly been defrauded.

According to investigators, Munawar was allegedly the mastermind who devised the scheme and recruited the other three men. Police said he had been working in painting and denting jobs but was struggling to meet his family's expenses before allegedly deciding to make money through the fraud. The group is suspected of carrying out the scheme at multiple locations in Hyderabad and surrounding areas. Police have seized two cars, an auto-rickshaw, two motorcycles and four mobile phones in connection with the investigation.

Investigators also recovered 25 fake gold coins, six kilograms of coal, four kilograms of soil and puja materials allegedly used to make the treasure claims appear convincing. A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further investigation is underway. Police are examining the group's activities and the circumstances surrounding the alleged transactions with the 11 victims as part of the ongoing probe.

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