Ahmedabad, Jul 15 (IANS): An Ahmedabad man has been swindled out of a whopping Rs.51 lakhs by a gang of five individuals who promised him a US visa.
The victim, Shailesh Patel -- 48-year-old school van driver, lodged a complaint on Friday with the local police detailing the events leading to the deceitful act.
The matter is currently under investigation and the police are looking for the modus operandi and the bigger network by interrogative with the culprits.
Shailesh has filed a complaint with Navrangpura police, accusing a person named Jaswinder Singh Bajwa and the other four individuals of breach of trust, cheating, and criminal conspiracy.
The incident unfolded when Shailesh's brother-in-law, Haresh Patel, who currently resides in Chicago, requested him to assist his friend, Pragnesh Patel, in obtaining a visitor's visa back in December.
Haresh provided Shailesh with the contact information of a visa agent named Ayaz Syed.
Acting upon his brother-in-law's instructions, Shailesh promptly got in touch with Ayaz.
However, instead of assisting Shailesh directly, Ayaz directed him to approach Bajwa, the proprietor of a tour firm.
Several days later, Haresh contacted Shailesh again, informing him that Bajwa had instructed him to deposit a staggering sum of R. 51 lakhs with an angadia firm.
The purpose of this transaction, as explained by Haresh, was to fabricate banking transactions in Pragnesh's account, a requirement for the visa application process.
Trusting Haresh and believing the legitimacy of the arrangement, Shailesh complied with his brother-in-law's directive.
He visited the angadia firm and handed over the entire amount of Rs 51 lakhs to an individual present there, ensuring to obtain a receipt for the transaction.
Shailesh was informed by an official at the angadia firm that the visa would be processed within two days.
However, as time passed, Shailesh did not receive any communication from either Bajwa or the angadia firm.
When he attempted to contact them, he discovered that the was cheated as their phones were switched off and they could not be contacted.