Surat: A resident of Surat, who had suffered losses of more than Rs 3 crore in his event management business, allegedly formed a gang and began cheating people by promising iPhones and Samsung Fold phones at heavily discounted prices.Sarthana police have arrested four persons in connection with the racket, in which the accused allegedly collected money for more than 500 phones but failed to deliver them or refund the payments.The case came to light after 31-year-old trader Chirag Rawal approached Sarthana police on Sept 22. According to his complaint, accused Dipak Rawat contacted him in Jan and offered to supply iPhone 17 Pro Max phones from Dubai through co-accused Pankaj Rawal.Rawat initially supplied two phones for Rs 60,000 each, allegedly gaining Rawal’s confidence. Rawal subsequently paid Rs 25.83 lakh for 36 iPhones and Samsung Fold phones. However, 23 iPhones worth Rs 15.68 lakh were allegedly not delivered. When Rawal sought a refund, Rawat allegedly threatened him and refused to return the money.Rawal subsequently learnt that Rawat, along with Pankaj Rawal, Uttam Rawal and Dhanraj Rawal, had allegedly duped several others using similar offers.Police said victims included Vijaynath Goswami, who paid for 70 phones; Bhavesh Kalathiya (35); Hardik Agrawal (19); Manoj Rawat (11); and Ashok Solanki (three), besides several others.DCP Zone-1 Alok Kumar told TOI that Dipak had incurred losses exceeding Rs 3 crore in his event management firm and allegedly conspired with the others to make money through the phone scheme. The gang allegedly offered iPhone 17 Pro Max models for Rs 50,000-Rs 60,000 and Samsung Fold 7 phones for around Rs 70,000.“The gang collected money for more than 500 phones but delivered only a fraction of them,” Kumar said, adding that police were calculating the exact amount of the alleged fraud. More complainants from Godadara, Saroli and other areas are reportedly coming forward.
