Dhrangadhra City Police on Tuesday arrested Prashant Vaghela, 30, for allegedly defrauding multiple people of approximately Rs1.35 crore through a fraudulent stock market investment scheme. Vaghela was presented in court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody for five days.
The case came to light after a complaint by Dheeraj Parmar, 33, a car accessories businessman. Parmar said he met Vaghela two years ago, as the accused frequently visited his shop. Vaghela allegedly offered monthly returns of 3% to 3.5%, enticing Parmar to invest.
Initially, Parmar invested Rs5 lakh and received Rs60,000 over four months, which built trust. Believing Vaghela, he later invested Rs34 lakh between February and September 2024 but received only Rs7 lakh in returns. Vaghela then stopped payments and disappeared, locking his house.
Police investigations revealed that Vaghela allegedly used the same strategy to cheat about 15 other investors. Authorities are continuing the probe to track additional victims and recover the defrauded funds.
