Ahmedabad resident cheated of Rs 51 lakh by fraudsters promising US visa

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Ahmedabad man has been swindled out of a whopping Rs.51 lakhs by a gang of five individuals who promised him a US visa. The victim, Shailesh Patel — 48-year-old school van driver, lodged a complaint on Friday with the local police detailing the events leading to the deceitful act. The matter is currently under investigation and the police are looking for the modus operandi and the bigger network by interrogative with the culprits. Shailesh has filed a complaint with Navrangpura police, accusing a person named Jaswinder Singh Bajwa and the other four individuals of breach of trust, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. The incident unfolded when Shailesh's brother-in-law, Haresh Patel, who currently resides in Chicago, requested him to assist his friend, Pragnesh Patel, in obtaining a visitor's visa back in December.

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Haresh provided Shailesh with the contact information of a visa agent named Ayaz Syed. Acting upon his brother-in-law's instructions, Shailesh promptly got in touch with Ayaz. However, instead of assisting Shailesh directly, Ayaz directed him to approach Bajwa, the proprietor of a tour firm. Several days later, Haresh contacted Shailesh again, informing him that Bajwa had instructed him to deposit a staggering sum of R. 51 lakhs with an angadia firm. The purpose of this transaction, as explained by Haresh, was to fabricate banking transactions in Pragnesh's account, a requirement for the