Surat: The Khatodara police booked a man claiming to be a media person for allegedly cheating 17 people of Rs 2.44 crore by promising them jobs in the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and houses under civic body housing schemes.The fraud came to light after the victims realised that no such recruitment or housing allotment existed. According to the complaint, Prahlad Patil, who runs a paper dish manufacturing unit, was introduced to Rajendra Chaudhary, who claimed to own a newspaper, by his relative Dinesh. Dinesh claimed he was a media person. Chaudhary operated an office in Khatodara.In Jan 2024, Chaudhary allegedly told Patil that he had contacts in the SMC and could secure him a house under an SMC housing scheme. As Patil wanted a house for his son in the Adajan scheme, he paid Rs 1.5 lakh as advance.Patil later informed his relatives and friends who were looking for jobs. When they met Chaudhary, he allegedly showed them a recruitment advertisement published in his newspaper and claimed he could arrange Class II and Class III jobs in the municipal corporation. He demanded Rs 16,700 per application form and Rs 15 lakh per job, asking the applicants to pay the amount within three months.A total of 16 relatives of the complainant paid Rs 15.16 lakh each to Chaudhary for the promised jobs.Police said that between Feb 2024 and June 2025, Patil and his relatives collectively paid Rs 2.44 crore to the accused. However, whenever they asked about the jobs, Chaudhary gave excuses such as delays in document verification at universities.When the victims began demanding their money back, Chaudhary allegedly threatened them. The complainants later checked with the SMC and found that no such recruitment drive had been announced.Realising they had been cheated, the victims approached Khatodara police, who registered a case against Chaudhary.“During the investigation, we have learnt that Chaudhary may have cheated several other people as well,” an official from the economic offences cell said.
