Rajkot: A 37-year-old former footwear trader, now working as a labourer, lodged a police complaint alleging that an acquaintance cheated him of Rs 29.20 lakh over two years by promising him discounted gold, lucrative returns from a construction business, a house and rituals to ward off black magic.The FIR, registered at Malaviyanagar police station on Friday, names Jaydeep Vaghela as the accused. The complainant, Kanak Parmar, accused him of cheating and criminal breach of trust.Parmar, who ran a footwear shop at Mayaninagar Chowk, first met Vaghela eight years ago while feeding birds near Amrapali railway crossing.In Jan 2025, Vaghela offered to arrange 10g of gold for Rs 65,000, against the market price of Rs 95,000. Parmar paid him Rs 85,000 in cash. Vaghela later claimed that the money had grown to Rs 1 lakh and persuaded Parmar to invest it in his construction business, promising high returns and a house for the complainant, who lived in rented accommodation. To gain his trust, Vaghela gave him a cheque for Rs 15 lakh.Between 2025 and 2026, Parmar took multiple loans from banks and financial institutions. He transferred Rs 6.49 lakh through UPI and Rs 5.50 lakh through RTGS to Vaghela’s mother’s account and paid another Rs 9.36 lakh in cash to Vaghela.As Parmar’s footwear business faltered and domestic disputes followed, Vaghela suggested black magic was to blame and suggested a ritual by a priest in Ujjain to remove the curse, demanding Rs 5 lakh. He also borrowed Rs 2 lakh, claiming he needed a similar ritual for himself, later saying the money would be invested in the construction business.To raise the funds, Parmar took a Rs 4 lakh home loan from a finance company and a Rs 3 lakh personal loan from an NBFC, handing the entire Rs 7 lakh to Vaghela. Instead of taking him to Ujjain, Vaghela sought photographs of Parmar and his wife on WhatsApp, claiming the priest would perform the ritual remotely.Vaghela promised to repay the investments with profits by June 2026. When the deadline passed without payment, he made repeated excuses before blocking Parmar’s phone number.
