'I’ll Help You Reach Mota Chiloda': Conman Vanishes With Valuables Worth ₹46,000 After Offering to Help 59-Year-Old Woman in Ahmedabad

'I’ll Help You Reach Mota Chiloda' | How a Conman Took a 59-Year-Old Woman on an Ahmedabad Detour and Vanished With ₹46,000

A 59-year-old woman travelling to Ahmedabad for her sister's birthday lost valuables worth ₹46,000 after an unidentified man befriended her at the Geeta Mandir ST bus stand and tricked her into handing over her bag.

The complainant, Kantaben Butabhai Prajapati of Dholka, was duped near Prem Darwaja on November 12. According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered at Madhavpura police station, Prajapati boarded a state transport bus from Dholka around 9 am and arrived in Ahmedabad at roughly 10.30 am. She was carrying a bag containing clothes, cash, a Realme mobile phone valued at ₹5,000, and a pair of gold earrings worth ₹25,000.

An Offer of Help Turns Into a Confidence Trick

At the Geeta Mandir bus stand, Prajapati asked another woman for directions to Mota Chiloda. A man standing nearby, dressed in a white shirt and trousers, intervened and offered to guide her, claiming he was travelling in the exact same direction.

What initially appeared to be a gesture from a helpful fellow commuter quickly escalated into a calculated confidence trick. The suspect took Prajapati in an autorickshaw towards Kalupur. Along the way, he purchased a new bag and a small lock from a roadside vendor, instructing her to transfer all her belongings into the newly bought bag.

Gaining her trust, the stranger warned her that the locality was unsafe and advised her to take off her footwear and pack it inside the bag as well. By following his instructions, Prajapati inadvertently consolidated almost everything she was carrying into the single bag under his supervision.

The Prem Darwaja Detour and Escape

The pair subsequently arrived at Shri Chamunda Selection, a clothing store located near Prem Darwaja. Claiming ownership of the shop, the man instructed Prajapati to leave her bag there while he went to purchase clothes, promising he would return shortly to retrieve her luggage and help her catch a bus.

Instead of returning, he led her to Madhupura market, told her to wait outside a shop, and vanished. Prajapati waited at the spot for nearly an hour and a half before realising something was amiss.

When she walked back to Shri Chamunda Selection to collect her luggage, staff at the store informed her that the man had already returned and walked away with the bag. Left without her mobile phone, cash, clothes, gold earrings, or even her footwear, she borrowed the shopkeeper's phone to alert her son-in-law, Jagdish Gangaram Prajapati, before approaching the authorities.

Police Launch Search for Suspect

Madhavpura police have registered a formal case of cheating and initiated an investigation to track down the accused.

Based on the victim's statement, the suspect is described as a Gujarati-speaking man aged between 45 and 50 years, who was wearing a white shirt and trousers at the time of the offence. Police are reviewing the sequence of locations—from Geeta Mandir and Kalupur to Prem Darwaja and Madhupura market—to trace the conman's movements.