Surat: The city police’s Economic Offences Cell (EOC) has arrested two men for allegedly cheating a businessman of around Rs 7 crore by promising to secure a government order for the supply of shoes. The complainant, Pravin Dhaduk, told police he was lured into the deal after being assured that the accused had an “understanding” with government officials in West Bengal and could secure a major tender for supplying shoes to school students.Based on Dhaduk’s complaint, police registered a case against Kishor Vaghela, Simis Subramanyam Nochil, Sayan Sen, Shubhashish Singh, Indrajeet Sengupta and Sanjeev. Vaghela and Nochil were arrested on Tuesday, while efforts are underway to trace the remaining accused.According to investigators, the alleged fraud took place between February 2023 and February 2024. During this period, the accused told the complainant that the Ananddhara West Bengal State Rural Livelihood Mission had issued a tender for the supply of shoes, valued at around Rs 36 crore. They allegedly demanded 16% of the tender amount as commission for arranging the order.Police said the accused created bogus documents to make it appear that Dhaduk had secured the tender. Believing these documents and their assurances, Dhaduk allegedly paid Rs 2.49 crore in instalments to Indrajeet Sengupta as commission. He also supplied around one lakh pairs of shoes, worth approximately Rs 4.50 crore, to West Bengal as part of the purported order.After the supply was made, the accused allegedly told Dhaduk that payment would be delayed as it was a government contract. However, police said no payment was made and the shoes were not returned, resulting in losses estimated at around Rs 7 crore.The EOC is examining financial transactions, the authenticity of the documents used to convince the complainant, and the movement and receipt of the shoe consignments. Further arrests are expected as the investigation progresses.“The complainant runs a manufacturing unit in Surat and had developed contact with the accused through common acquaintances. The shoes were supplied to West Bengal, and we will gather more details during the investigation,” said G A Sarvaiya, Assistant Commissioner of Police, EOC.
