Srinagar, Aug. 26 -- The family had fallen into debt and wanted to sell.

Bashir weighed the pieces, deducted making charges, and quoted a figure. The husband objected: "But gold is at Rs.75,000 per 10 grams today."

Bashir shrugged: "That's the rate, but ornaments don't return full value."

The man left angry. His wife left silent. Bashir says it happens every week.

For many Kashmiri families, this is the shock, realizing that gold in jewelry form is not the golden guarantee they assumed.

In Baramulla, 38-year-old schoolteacher Shafiqa recalls how she and her neighbours trusted a local agent who promised fixed monthly returns if they pooled money into a "gold trading scheme."

The man distributed receipts, even showed photographs of bu...