Three individuals linked to a major investment scam were arrested after a victim filed a complaint with Ahmedabad City Police’s Detection of Cybercrime Branch (DCB). The scam targeted Utpal Patel, a Science City resident, who joined a group called ‘Aditya Birla Exchange’ three months ago, where stock market information was shared.
Patel communicated with the group’s admin, who promised substantial returns on investments and charged a 20% commission on profits. Trusting the well-known Aditya Birla name, Patel opened an account and started investing. Within just 13 days, he had invested Rs59 lakh, seeing profits reflected in his account. However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount, he was asked to pay taxes, raising his suspicion. Upon realizing he had been deceived, Patel filed a complaint with the cybercrime department.
Following the complaint, police arrested three individuals: Prakash Parmar from Ambawdi, Priyank Thakkar from Memnagar, and Keval Gadhvi from Bopal. Preliminary investigations revealed that Parmar had rented out his bank account for fraudulent transactions related to the scam. Thakkar was responsible for managing the accounts and transferring the funds to a Chinese gang, while Gadhvi revealed they had set up an office in Saffron Tower, Ambawadi.
A police raid on the office led to the seizure of Rs37.11 lakh in cash, multiple bank cheque books, 33 debit and credit cards, 17 passbooks, and 37 SIM cards. Further investigations at the accused’s residences uncovered 112 cheque books, 48 passbooks, 12 debit and credit cards, and fake university documents, including marksheets, certificates, letterheads, and stamps.
The police believe further revelations may emerge as the investigation continues into this elaborate scam.
