In Ahmedabad, the owner of a paper company has been taken into custody over allegations of perpetrating a fraud amounting to Rs. 3.55 crore. The charges stem from the owner's failure to pay for goods worth several crores of rupees. The investigation of this fraud complaint has been assigned to the Economic Offenses Prevention Branch of the Crime Branch, who made the arrest.
The complainant, Babulal Mehta, a resident of the Madhupura area of Ahmedabad, initiated business discussions with Vimal Patel at the behest of his friend, Vasimbhai Vadavariya. This new association led to Patel placing an order for a truckload of craft paper from Mehta. As per the agreed trading terms, payment was to be made within a month of the goods being dispatched.
Initially, Mehta dispatched between 12 to 15 tonnes of craft paper, to which Patel responded with timely payments. However, between February and May, Mehta sent a total of 45 carts of craft paper worth Rs. 4.70 crore to Patel. Out of this, Patel paid only Rs. 1.15 crore, leaving Rs. 3.55 crore unpaid.
Patel then issued eight cheques, each worth two crores, all of which were returned for insufficient funds. Following this, Mehta filed a case in court, accusing Patel of fraud for withholding the remaining Rs. 1.55 crore. The Anti-Economic Offenses Wing of the Crime Branch has since taken Patel into custody and is proceeding with further action.
