Ahmedabad DCB busts inter-state weighbridge fraud racket, 7 held, masterminds on the run

The Detection of Crime Branch, Ahmedabad, has busted an inter-state gang allegedly involved in defrauding scrap dealers and industrial units by tampering with weighbridge systems, and has arrested seven persons and seized specialised electronic devices used in the scam.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs and following technical surveillance coupled with human intelligence, Crime Branch officials uncovered a sophisticated modus operandi in which the accused manipulated electronic weighbridges to under-report the weight of scrap material, thereby cheating sellers during transactions across multiple states.

Investigators said the accused fitted customised microchips into electronic weighing machines, enabling them to alter the displayed weight of loaded vehicles. Using remote-control devices, they could reduce the visible tonnage at will, allowing them to purchase scrap at significantly lower recorded weights while taking possession of the full quantity.

“The gang would identify scrap deals at construction sites, industrial yards and company scrapyards, or participate in auctions to secure contracts. Once access was gained, they would clandestinely install the modified chips in the weighbridge systems through technically skilled associates,” an official said.

Based on inputs that members of the gang were to assemble with illegal equipment in the Vatva GIDC Phase-III area, a Crime Branch team conducted a raid and apprehended the accused.

Those arrested have been identified as Hemantkumar Vijaybhai Raval (33), a resident of Khokhra; Sanket Haimatbhai Raval (24) of Vatva; Vijaybhai Govindbhai Thakor (36) of Nana Chiloda; Manishbhai Shamalbhai Rabari (27) of Kalol in Gandhinagar district; Vinodbhai Nagarbhai Patni (36) of Saraspur; Mukeshbhai Sureshbhai Patni (31) of Asarwa; and Sunil Ashwinbhai Patni (36) of Bapunagar.

Police said at least six other accused, including Rajneesh Kashyap and Chirag Goswami alias Chirag Bawa of Odhav, remain absconding. Efforts are under way to trace and arrest them.

During the operation, the Crime Branch seized four electronic chips worth ₹80,000, 13 remote-control devices valued at ₹65,000, 12 mobile phones worth ₹2.65 lakh, and a vehicle worth ₹15 lakh, taking the total seizure value to approximately ₹19.10 lakh.

A case has been registered at the DCB Police Station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009.

Officials said further investigation is under way to ascertain the full scale of the fraud, including the number of victims and the financial losses incurred across states. The role of technical experts who facilitated the tampering of weighbridge systems is also being probed.