The owner of one of the top luxury watch and jewelry stores in the Boston area has fled the country with his family and closed his business in the face of financial difficulties, according to local media reports.

Raman Handa, owner of Alpha Omega, (pictured in center)his son Amit, (left) and his daughter Nidhi (right) fled the country, according to a report Wednesday in Boston Magazine Web site on its blog “Bostonista.” On Thursday the blog reported that the four-store chain has gone dark. 

Its Web site has also shut down, with a message directing all inquiries to 617-864-9111, the company’s administrative office. A call Thursday morning to the number resulted in a recording to leave a message, which led to another recording saying the message queue is full.A message was left with human resources director Robert Joy. 

Boston Magazine said it obtained a memo from Joy to its staff dated Dec. 19, saying that Handa, an Indian-American, “Had taken ill and has traveled to India to seek medical attention and convalesce.”

The magazine blog reported that employees at the company’s flagship store in Cambridge were met with persons who would only identify themselves as consultants working for a bank. They reportedly told an employee that the family left the country with 17 suitcases and no plans to return.

In an interview with the Boston Herald published Thursday, Joy called the Boston Magazine report, a “farce.” He told the newspaper that Handa is resting in India and is expected to return by the end of the year. He added that Alpha Omega is a “viable” company that has not laid off any employees. He said he doing payroll when the newspaper called Wednesday.

Alpha Omega Cambridge store

The magazine also reports that, according to the land records, Handa took out a mortgage for an undisclosed sum on his Lexington, Mass., home on Nov. 16—on top of two existing mortgages he already had in place totaling a $2.3 million, which exceeds the $2.02 million value of the house.

You can find JCK stories on Alpha Omega, including interviews with Handa here.

JCK