Gujarat: Gang impersonated bullion industry figure Prithviraj Kothari to dupe man of Rs 75 lakh
Ahmedabad, Aug 13 (IANS) A gang allegedly used the identity of prominent bullion industry figure Prithviraj Kothari to gain the confidence of a Hyderabad-based man and fraudulently obtain Rs 75 lakh through an angadia firm, Ahmedabad Police said on Thursday, adding that two alleged members of the gang have been arrested and Rs 25 lakh recovered.
The case came to light after a Zero FIR registered in Hyderabad was transferred to Ahmedabad and subsequently registered at Kalupur Police Station under Sections 316(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The complainant, Rohitkumar Jain of Telangana, told police that on July 8 he received a call from a man who falsely claimed to be Prithviraj Kothari.
According to the complaint, the caller told Jain that he needed Rs 75 lakh to be sent from Hyderabad to Kalupur through an angadia firm.
He allegedly introduced another associate as Ashok Jain and provided a mobile number, saying the money would be delivered through him.
On July 9, another associate, allegedly introduced as Babubhai, was said to be collecting the consignment in Ahmedabad. Jain subsequently sent Rs 75 lakh through R Ganesh Angadia in Kalupur.
The person using Babubhai’s identity allegedly collected the cash, after which the three men switched off their phones.
DCP Zone-3 Rupal Solanki said the LCB began investigating the case after its registration at Kalupur Police Station.
CCTV footage and the alleged modus operandi helped investigators identify the suspected main accused as Modhsingh alias Vikramsingh Rajpurohit (48), a native of Jalore district in Rajasthan, and Bharatgiri Goswami (32) of Deesa in Banaskantha district.
“Bharatgiri, who had come here to collect the money from the angadia firm, was arrested by our team in Ahmedabad itself. When we enquired about Modhsingh’s whereabouts, we learnt that he was in Jodhpur, and our team successfully arrested him there as well,” Solanki said.
The two accused were detained on August 12 under Section 35(1)(e) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, police said. Five mobile phones and Rs 25 lakh in cash, together valued at Rs 25.52 lakh, were recovered.
Police said the gang allegedly researched information about Jain community organisations and their events available online before contacting potential victims.
The accused would allegedly pose as Prithviraj Kothari, use publicly available details to establish credibility and then claim that money was urgently required for an angadia transaction.
“The name Prithviraj Kothari is a very well-known name, and they obtain authenticated details available on the JITO website and then use those details while speaking to people. Their manner of speaking is the main basis of the offence,” she said.
Kothari is a prominent figure in India’s bullion industry and is the managing director of RiddiSiddhi Bullions Ltd (RSBL).
His official profile describes him as a founding member and director of the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO), and notes that he was appointed national president of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association in 2019 for a five-year term. Kothari took over as chairman of JITO in September 2024.
JITO describes itself as a network of Jain entrepreneurs and professionals, and at the time of his appointment it had 70 chapters and 17,290 members.
Police said the use of Kothari’s name was part of the alleged fraud and there was no indication in the police account that Kothari himself was involved in the offence.
Solanki said the alleged gang’s method involved a short window between establishing contact and collecting the money.
“We can also describe this as a type of cyber offence because so much information is available online from which small and significant details can be gathered. They exploit that information, causing the other person to trust them. The time period is very short, within which the money is transferred, and only afterwards does the person realise that they have been cheated,” she alleged.
Police said Modhsingh has been involved in criminal cases since around 2007. According to the police record, 18 offences have been registered against him in Gujarat, particularly Ahmedabad, while six cases are registered in Maharashtra and two in Rajasthan.
The listed cases include offences relating to theft, cheating, criminal breach of trust, personation and house-breaking.
Police said Bharatgiri had been in contact with Modhsingh for the past two to three years and allegedly acted as the person who physically collected money after being instructed where to go.
In the present case, he was allegedly promised Rs six lakh for collecting the cash. The police said Rs 25 lakh has been recovered so far, while the remaining amount is yet to be traced, as some of it was allegedly spent and some used to repay liabilities.
Another alleged associate, identified as Deepu and suspected of having used the name Ashok Jain, remains wanted.
“The latest offence registered at Kalupur and the offences in Maharashtra and Rajasthan show that this particular modus operandi has been used,” Solanki said, adding that earlier cases against the accused also included theft and other offences.
The investigation is continuing to trace the remaining money and the wanted accused.
–IANS
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