Rajkot: A 42-year-old Rajkot man who now performs religious ceremonies for a living, was defrauded of Rs 10 lakh by a former colleague, who promised him contracts for performing ceremonies from corporate entities in Kutch and Banaskantha.
Ashok Dhandhiya filed an FIR at University police station here accusing one Hitesh Parmar and his three accomplices of cheating and conspiracy.
Dhandhiya stated that he used to work in the marketing department of a tea company, where Parmar was his colleague from 2006 to 2007.
In Jan, after about 18 years, Parmar contacted him. Parmar claimed that he had moved to Bhuj and ran a car rental service for large companies in Bhuj, Mundra and Banaskantha.
When Dhandhiya told Parmar he was working as a Karmakandi Brahman, Parmar told him that these companies offer lucrative annual contracts to people who perform Vedic ceremonies. He promised to secure them for Dhandhiya through his connections and Dhandhiya agreed to provide whatever documentation was necessary and comply with all procedures.
Between Jan 21 and May 28, Parmar tricked the complainant into paying him Rs 9.94 lakh towards various fictitious charges, such as fees for ‘registration, tenders, processing', and his purported GST liability.
To fortify the deception, Parmar orchestrated conference calls with individuals who posed as company managers and pressured Dhandhiya to transfer money quickly to secure these ‘contracts'.
On getting no contracts, Dhandhiya confronted Parmar and demanded his money back. After repeated delays and excuses, Parmar returned Rs 1.75 lakh in two payments, but only after Dhandhiya's brother-in-law threatened legal action.