Businessman cheated of Rs 15 lakh with lure of US visa

AHMEDABAD: A 68-year-old man from Ranip on Monday filed a complaint of cheating with Vastrapur police alleging that he was duped of Rs 15 lakh by two travel agents having their office in Bodakdev under the pretext of getting US visa for his daughter-in-law.
According to the complaint filed by Kantilal Patel (68), a retired businessman who stays at Swatantra Parshwanath society in Ranip, he along with his family had gone to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in June 2016 where in they met two agents Rikin Poonch and Dhruti Poonch.The duo had told Patel that they do work of visa consultancy, tour booking and money transfer.
In July 2016, when Patel's daughter-in-law-Komal - wanted to go to US to complete her Chartered Accountant (CA) course, Patel approached Rikin and Dhruti, at their office in Platinum plaza on Judges Bungalow road.
Patel's son and son-in-law then submitted Komal's documents and deposited Rs 15 lakh through RTGS (real time gross settlement) to Dhruti's account on August 9, 2016. Dhruti had also given a cheque of Rs 15 lakh as a security to Patel. As my daughter-in-law did not get visa for a long time, Patel enquired and found that duo had cheated several other persons in a similar fashion, said the FIR.
After this, Patel approached Rikin and Dhruti and asked about his daughter-in-law's visa process. The duo told him to deposit the cheque, which they gave as security, which got returned. Dhruti ensured Patel that she would return his amount as his daughter-in-law did not get visa to US. But when Patel did not get his money back, he filed a complaint against Rikin and Dhruti.
Vastrapur police has registered a complaint of cheating and breach of trust against the duo who are yet to be arrested.