News Flash Daily
19 February
Kyathanahalli Store Owner Allegedly Poured Chemical on Himself, Filed Fake Robbery Case to Avoid Repaying Gold Loans
Mandya: Police arrested a jewellery shop owner for allegedly staging an acid attack on himself in an attempt to mislead authorities and avoid repaying mounting debts. The accused, identified as Jitendra Singh, had initially claimed that unidentified robbers attacked him and fled with gold and silver ornaments worth lakhs of rupees.
According to police officials, Singh runs a jewellery store in Kyathanahalli village of Pandavapura taluk. He had reportedly borrowed substantial amounts of money from multiple lenders to purchase gold and had also accepted jewellery items on pawn from customers.
Fake Acid Attack to Escape Financial Liabilities
Investigators revealed that Singh allegedly devised the dramatic plan to escape repaying his creditors. He is accused of pouring a chemical substance on his own face to fabricate an acid attack. After inflicting the injuries, he approached the police and lodged a complaint claiming that armed robbers had assaulted him and looted precious metals from his store.
The complaint triggered an investigation into what initially appeared to be a serious robbery and acid assault case. Police began examining evidence from the shop premises and surrounding areas.
CCTV Footage Recovered from Pond
During the probe, officers discovered inconsistencies in Singh’s statement. Crucially, CCTV footage from the shop was reported missing. Acting on suspicion, police conducted searches in the vicinity and later recovered the CCTV recording device from a nearby pond.
Upon reviewing the footage, investigators reportedly found visual evidence showing Singh pouring the chemical substance on his own face, contradicting his claim of an external attack.
The CCTV footage clearly indicates that the accused staged the attack himself. The alleged robbery was fabricated to mislead creditors and law enforcement, a senior police officer said.
Police have since taken Singh into custody and registered a case for filing a false complaint, attempting to mislead investigators, and other relevant offences under the law. Authorities are continuing further inquiries to determine the full extent of financial liabilities and whether others were aware of the staged incident.
The incident has raised concerns about the misuse of serious criminal allegations, such as acid attacks for personal financial motives. Officials emphasised that stringent action will be taken against those attempting to manipulate the justice system.
