Rajkot: A 62-year-old woman from Junagadh has allegedly been cheated of Rs 28 lakh by a man who lured her into investing in a scrap business with promises of hefty returns.The complainant, Gita Soni, has lodged a complaint against Naran Hajani at the Junagadh City C Division police station under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).According to the complaint, Gita and her husband were looking for an additional source of income alongside their existing occupations. Around 21 months ago, when the family was living in Meghani Nagar, their son Hitesh became acquainted with a youth named Dipak. Through this association, the family developed close ties with Dipak’s father, Naran. Gita’s husband works as a jeweller in Rajkot’s Soni Bazar.Allegedly taking advantage of the family’s trust, Naran offered Gita a partnership in a scrap business. She initially invested Rs 50,000, following which he returned small amounts as profits through Google Pay and cash. He also gave her Rs 3 lakh in cash when she purchased a house, claiming the money had come from business profits. These transactions helped him gain the family’s confidence.Naran later claimed to have secured a contract to deploy 700 workers at a major company in Jamnagar. He told Gita that an investment of Rs 3 lakh would make her a business partner and promised monthly returns of Rs 1 lakh. When she sought details about the company, he cited confidentiality concerns and assured her that he would show her the relevant documents in Jamnagar.As the investment proposals became increasingly lucrative, Naran advised Gita to raise a loan against her house to arrange additional funds. Acting on his suggestion, she obtained a loan of Rs 8 lakh from a finance company on Dec 3, 2025, and handed over Rs 10 lakh in cash to him.The accused continued to assure her of substantial returns, promising to settle all accounts and pay her approximately Rs 1 crore, including her investment and profits. At his request, she also borrowed Rs 2 lakh from a friend and arranged another Rs 8 lakh from her parents. Including her initial investments, the total amount allegedly handed over to him came to around Rs 28 lakh, according to the complaint.Naran promised to return the entire amount, along with the promised profits, after receiving salary payments between Oct 1 and 10. However, even after the deadline passed, he failed to repay the money. When Gita and her husband approached him, he began making excuses, while his mobile phones became unreachable.The couple visited his residence in Dolatpara but found it locked. They soon found out that many other people had also suffered financial losses by falling into Naran’s trap.Suspecting that she had been cheated under the pretext of a scrap business partnership and a purported labour supply contract in Jamnagar, Gita finally approached police and lodged a formal complaint.
