Couple accused of defrauding IT services firm of 3cr

Rajkot: A case of alleged fraud involving investments worth over Rs 3 crore was registered at the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) police station, based on a complaint by a local businessman.Based on the complaint by Nilesh Turkhia, 46, police registered an offence against an Ahmedabad-based couple, under Sections 316(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).In 2022, Turkhi started a partnership firm with one of the accused, which operated from the Bhaktinagar Station Plot area of Rajkot. The firm offered software and communication-related services, including messaging platforms, web design, web hosting, networking solutions and consultancy. Turkhi's partner was in charge of day-to-day operations.Turkhia invested Rs 1.29 crore in the business. Later, Kevin Mistry joined as a partner for business development and invested over Rs 1.70 crore. Together, the two partners invested more than Rs 3 crore in the firm.In his complaint, Turkhia alleged that instead of using the funds for business growth, the couple started a separate firm without informing the partners and transferred key company data to the new entity. It was also alleged that data was shared with a Dubai-based company, where the accused's associate was appointed as a director.The economic offences wing has begun an investigation. Officials sought bank statements and other financial records to verify the transactions and trace the movement of funds.