7 held for tampering with weighbridges at Vatva GIDC

Ahmedabad: An interstate gang found to be manipulating weighbridges in the Vatva GIDC to cheat scrap dealers and industrial units has been busted, and seven accused arrested. City crime branch officers said an investigation using technical and human surveillance was launched after receiving specific intelligence on the gang.Investigation into the intelligence revealed the gang's modus operandi. The accused would strike deals to buy scrap at various bidding sites, company scrap yards and other locations across states, or by winning auction bids. The gang would then illegally install a special microchip in the electronic weighing machines used at weighbridges. It would remotely control the chip to make the system display less weight of a scrap-laden truck than actual, thereby generating fake weight receipts."By showing a significantly lower weight of the scrap purchased than actual, they systematically defrauded company scrap yards and site owners," said officers.The crime branch had a tip that members of the gang had gathered at the Vatva GIDC Phase 3 with their equipment and conducted a raid. The seven accused arrested have been identified as Hemantkumar Raval, 33, a resident of Khokhra; Sanket Raval, 24, of Vatva; Vijay Thakor, 36, of Bhiloda; Manish Rabari, 27, of Kalol; Vinod Patni, 36, of Saraspur; Mukesh Patni, 31, of Asarwa; and Sunil Patni, 36, of Bapunagar. During the operation, the crime branch team also seized four microchips, 13 remote controls, 12 mobile phones and a car, collectively valued at more than Rs 19 lakh. Authorities have also named several wanted accused, all residents of the eastern part of the city.