Ahmedabad, June 01: Ashok Jadeja involved in the scam of crores of rupees, was arrested by the CID crime on Sunday morning. A source said that Jadeja designed a scheme to dupe people because his clinic in Sarkhej gaam did not fetch him enough. He presented himself as a priest of the Mata Sikotar temple and claimed to have divine powers. He promised people to return thrice the amount of money they entrusted him with in three days, said a source.
The 35-year-old of the Chhara community, started taking Rs200 from people and assured to return Rs600 in three days. When his fraudulent scheme started fetching him money, he gradually increased the amount of money and also the duration of repayment, initially by a week, then by a fortnight and then 28 days. For quite some time, Jadeja even returned the people thrice the amount as promised to win their confidence.
Talks of his divine powers and money-multiplying scheme spread like a fire in the Chhara community across the nation. Hundreds of people started to visit him to seek his blessings and deposit money. Jadeja gradually built his network and appointed agents to lure Chhara community members in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab and other parts of the country. He gave them a 1 per cent commission against the money brought by them. Surprisingly, although a large number of those duped are rural people, mostly illiterate, a number of educated people have also fallen in Jadeja’s trap.
The police are now on the look out for Jadeja’s agents. “Ashok had appointed several agents to bolster his scheme; we are trying to nab over 40 persons involved in the scam,” said RK Patel, PI of CID crime.
According to a source in the police, Jadeja invested around Rs50 crore of what he procured by fraudulent means, in property and gold. Some of the people who had invested money with Jadeja had also sold their properties and other precious belongings with the intention to become rich overnight.
The villagers of Makarba had given their land to Jadeja for building a temple, but
Jadeja constructed flats instead and rented rooms to rake in more money.
–Agencies