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India’s ‘Gold Man’ Ruthlessly Murdered In Front Of His Son

By Aayush Mahat
Published on: 02:22 PST, Jul 17, 2016

India’s “gold man” Datta Phuge, owner of one of the most expensive shirts in the world, made exclusively of gold, has been brutally beaten to death. On Friday morning, Phuge was beaten to death using sickles, swords, knives, and stones in Digni, Pune according to the BBC.

Phuge, believed to be in his mid-40s, was lured to a fake birthday party and beaten to death by 12 men in front of his 22-year-old son, Shubham. The son witnessed his father being murdered, but was spared by the alleged killers.

The “gold man” reportedly owed them nearly $2,300, police said.

According to the police, one of the prime suspects, Atul Mohite, organized a fake birthday party for 10 p.m. on Thursday night. He called Shubham and told him to come with his father. Further, he asked him to bring ten Biryani parcels to the party.

After conveying the message to his father, Shubham went on to pick up the Biryani parcels with a friend, Rohan Panchal.

After arriving at the party spot, they saw Mohite and others attacking his father. They brandished him with stones and sharp weapons. Shubham screamed for help, but it was too late as Phuge was bleeding profusely; he was breathing his last breath.

Shubham and Panchal called the police control and informed them as the murderers escaped. Later, Phuge’s wife Seema, a former municipal corporate, also reached the spot.

According to the statement of his son, police swiftly apprehended four people. An additional five suspects were arrested on Saturday. These suspects were Pramod S. Dholpuria, 23; Vishal D. Parkhe, 32; Nivrutti alias Balukishan Wakle, 35; Shailesh S. Wakle, 26; and Balli K. Pathare, 24. Whereabouts of the other three remain unknown.

The nine accused were taken to the court where magistrate Khadki ordered they be kept in custody until July 21.

“As per preliminary information, Phuge and his son were invited by one of the suspects, who knew each other, to celebrate a birthday. However, we are investigating how Phuge reached the open ground where he was murdered,” said Dighi station’s police inspector, Navnath Ghogare.

Phuge rose to fame in 2013 when he bought a shirt worth $250,000 made up of 14,000 pieces of 22-carat gold and weighed 7.3 pounds. It took 16 days for 15 craftsmen of Ranka Jewellers of Pune to stitch the shirt and make them ready.

Along with its own matching cuffs, the shirt had a set of rings crafted from the leftover gold. It earned him the name “the gold man.”

He ran the Vakratund Chit Fund Pvt. Ltd. Many people, even those from Bhosari, Vishrantwadi and other places in Pune, had invested money in his company. He also used to lend money. Recently there had been complaints against him of financial embezzlement, and last year a notice was issued by the police as complaints against him were rising.

Phuge loved wearing gold and wore it to attract women. India is the world’s biggest consumer of gold. Purchase of gold is an essential part of religious festivals and weddings. It is also traditionally given as a gift at a wedding ceremony.

“Some people ask me why I’m wearing so much gold, but it was my dream. People have different aspirations. Some elite people want to own an Audi or Mercedes and have big cars. I chose gold,” he told the BBC in 2013.

“Gold has always been my passion since a young age. I’ve always worn gold as jewelry in the form of bracelets, rings, chains,” he added.

Given his glitzy lifestyle, Phuge was always accompanied by armed private bodyguards. But, what remains a mystery is the absence of his bodyguards on that night.

[Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images]

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