Ahmedabad: Prataprai Avtani, a 62-year-old textile businessman of Asavari Towers was duped of Rs 11,06,71,824. Avtani lodged a complaint in this regard on January 24. Avtani owns various textile companies operating from the Kalupur area of the city. As per the FIR lodged in March 2016, he bought two insurance policies worth Rs 50,000 each from a private bank, for his granddaughters.
Cyber cell officials stated, “ the cheats first lured Avtani into ‘buying’ various insurance policies and then entering other investment schemes, with promises of high returns. Later he was told by the cheats to pay more money towards fees to redeem his investments, which they told him had grown to Rs 30 crore.
The FIR stated, in the same month, he got a call from a person named Kaushik Desai, identifying himself as being from the bank Avtani bought his policies from.
A cyber cell official said, “Desai told Avtani that he got his details because of the two policies he had bought earlier. He told Avtani that the bank offered several other policies, which would give him double the returns,”
The FIR stated Avtani paid first Rs 1,98,000 on March 15, 2016, and then through various transactions till 2018, ‘invested’ more than Rs 50 lakh.
According to the FIR, Desai then told Avtani that his investments had crossed Rs 50 lakh, his case would be handled by Sadanand Mishra from their Hyderabad office. “Mishra then induced him into ‘investing’ more money”.
“When Avtani sought to redeem his investments, Mishra told him that Jagdish Kute of their Chennai office would handle his case,” a cyber cell official said.
In August 2018, Mishra called Avtani and said Avtani would have to pay some charges and taxes.
“Avtani paid the money Mishra demanded into various bank accounts.”
