How Rajasthan village’s ‘treasure hunt’ exposed a big fraud - ‘Hidden pots had no gold, only dust’

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• A treasure hunt in Rajasthan village exposed as a hoax by local con artists
• Police arrested two men who buried brass bricks, posing as ancient gold
• Excavation revealed only dust; villagers duped by fake rituals and promises

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A widespread manhunt for buried treasure in a Rajasthan village, which drew crowds of hopeful residents and even prompted an official excavation, has been revealed as an elaborate hoax orchestrated by a local gang of con artists.

The episode, which unfolded over several days in Seedra village, Tonk district, concluded with police arrests and the discovery that the purported ancient gold was nothing but brass.

The bizarre chain of events began on Saturday when cattle herders in Seedra, approximately two hours south of Jaipur, noticed rose petals and incense sticks scattered on grazing land, as reported by The Indian Express. As villagers gathered in curiosity, speculation ran rife. Officials from the district administration, including the Niwai tehsildar, arrived on the scene and by evening, excavators were deployed to dig the site.

Initial suspicions ranged from a buried body to a foetus. However, the excavation soon unearthed a large, heavy pot roughly two feet in height. Witness accounts described a chaotic scene as the pot was lifted. Locals, claiming to see yellowish, soap-bar-sized bricks inside, surged forward, yelling “dhan hai, dhan hai (there’s wealth)”. Police resorted to using lathis to control the crowd.

Local residents reportedly described seeing yellowish bricks, roughly the size of soap bars, inside the pot. They stated that as the crowd swelled, police used lathis to control the gathering, with one officer placing his foot on the pot to secure it. Another villager corroborated the account of seeing the bricks and the initial prayer items at the site.

To secure the find, tehsildar Naresh Gurjar announced the pot had been seized and placed under “double lock” with an official seal in the local Treasury office. This action only amplified rumours, leading villagers to conduct clandestine digs at the site under cover of darkness, hoping to find more treasure.

The feverish anticipation was punctured on Monday. A team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Ajmer first examined the original site. Subsequently, the sealed pot was opened in the presence of ASI and administration representatives. Inside, they found only dust.

Parallel police investigations had already pinpointed the source of the hoax. Authorities identified the plot as the work of a local “tatlubaaz (con artists) gang”. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Niwai) Ravi Prakash Sharma explained the gang’s modus operandi as cited by The Indian Express: they would bury objects, convince individuals of hidden treasure in exchange for payment, perform rituals at the spot and then “discover” the planted items.

Police arrested two local men from Seedra village: Mukesh Meena (32) and Abhishek Meena (24). From them, they retrieved metal bricks made to resemble gold. “The bricks look like they’re gold, but they are actually brass,” stated DSP Sharma. Mukesh Meena was found to operate a Facebook page under the name ‘Tatkal Aghori Maharaj’.

The DSP detailed the arrested men’s confession: they would bury items deep underground, promise victims wealth attainment (dhan siddhi) for a fee, conduct a puja and then miraculously unearth the “gold”. The two have been booked on charges of cheating.

This incident echoes a similar nationwide spectacle from 2013, when a sadhu’s dream of gold buried in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, prompted an official ASI excavation that ultimately found nothing.