Fake IAS officer cons businessmen brothers

Rajkot: Two Rajkot-based industrialist brothers were cheated of Rs 1.22 crore in the last four years by a Vadodara resident who impersonated an IAS officer who forged documents of several government offices and extracted huge amounts from them.A complaint was lodged with the detection of crime branch (DCB) by Alpesh Nariya and his brother Vijay against conman Hitesh Thakar. The brothers have a wire manufacturing unit in Shapar-Veraval area in which Vijay's wife Neeta is also a partner.In 2019, Vijay met Thakar in Ahmedabad and the latter identified himself as an IAS officer posted as a deputy director of the western division in the intelligence bureau (IB). They exchanged mobile numbers and continued to have regular conversations.As Vijay’s son was studying in Vadodara, he often went there and met the conman at the latter’s residence too several times.In 2020, during the pandemic lockdown, Thakar told Vijay that he had served as a deputy collector in Botad and had the powers to allot gauchar (grazing) and government wasteland at cheaper rates. He showed a piece of land to Vijay and his brother in Maliyasan on Rajkot city’s outskirts. Vijay agreed to buy the land in the name of his wife Neeta. Thakar then sent several forged documents of land acquisition officer, and additional district collector, Rajkot on Whatsapp and asked them to get printouts. Thereafter, he came to Rajkot and signed all the documents saying that he was a “gazetted officer” and the papers were now authentic. Vijay transferred Rs 4.86 lakh from his wife’s account Thakar’s for the land deal.The accused then lured the brothers with an assurance of getting a contract of the defence ministry without tender for supplying copper wires. He sent forged letters of DRDO on Whatsapp and signed it and made them pay Rs 30.83 lakh in various instalments.Vijay was a partner in two other firms in Rajkot and Jamnagar but he had some disputes with two of the women partners in these companies. When he told Thakar about this, the conmon told Vijay that the husbands of both women are former central excise and GST officers and that they were convincing central agencies like income tax to raid his business.He also convinced Vijay to secure a stay order from Gujarat high court against the possible raids and another order from Ranchi court in a cheating case. Also, one of Vijay’s partners was an accused in a drugs case and Thakar told Vijay that he needs to get an One of Vijay's partners was an accused in an NDPS offence, Thakar told Vijay he had to get a NOC from the NDPS department to prove that he has no role in the offence. A cheating case was also registered against Vijay in Nepal and he was told that he needs to fight that case with the help of the embassy.Vijay was made to pay Rs 32.23 lakh to solve all these cases, and in exchange for money, Thakar sent him a forged stay order from high court and Ranchi court and forged NOC of NDPS on Whatsapp. Thakar also made Vijay pay Rs 55 lakh in February 2022 to settle a dispute with his business partner saying that government will become mediatory. Thakar also sent a receipt to the Rajkot treasury department stating that he deposited Rs 55 lakh with the government.Vijay got suspicious and decided to verify all the documents provided by accused Thakar and found they were forged.

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