Ahmedabad pharmacist duped of ₹1.75 crore in land investment fraud

The Ahmedabad City Police have registered a case against a Gandhinagar-based man for allegedly cheating a pharmacist of over ₹1.75 crore under the pretext of a lucrative land investment deal. The accused, identified as Bhavik Sureshbhai Raval, reportedly gained the victim’s trust and induced him to transfer property and large sums of money on the promise of high returns, which were never delivered.

Deepak Dasharathbhai Patel (49), a resident of Sola, in his complaint states that the accused was an old college acquaintance from C U Shah College. Patel, who runs Anjani Medical Store in Bodakdev, told the police that Raval revived contact in June 2023 under the guise of friendship and later proposed a joint investment in land trading.

Raval allegedly convinced Patel that he could earn significant profits through land deals in Gandhinagar and Patan. In July 2023, he offered to make Patel his partner if he sold his shop in South Bopal. Patel agreed, and the shop was transferred to Raval’s name for ₹1.19 crore. However, Raval never paid the agreed amount, claiming he had invested it in a land deal and showed a cheque of ₹34 lakh “for documentation purposes

, which later bounced.

Subsequently, Raval persuaded Patel to invest further in another land project in Sughad village near Gandhinagar. Patel arranged ₹75.50 lakh through family and personal savings, which, along with an equal amount from Raval, was purportedly handed over to a farmer at Raval’s residence in November 2023. Raval promised to return the investment with one per cent interest within a year.

However, months passed without any return. Patel alleged that Raval repaid only ₹13 lakh in January 2024. Later, in October 2024, Raval signed a notarised undertaking before a Gandhinagar notary, promising to repay ₹1.05 crore by March 2025, but failed to do so. He subsequently issued two cheques, ₹88 lakh and ₹87.50 lakh, both of which were dishonoured by the bank.

In total, Patel claimed to have invested ₹1.94 crore, of which only ₹19 lakh was returned in instalments. The remaining ₹1.75 crore and promised profits were never paid. The complaint accuses Raval of breach of trust, cheating, and fraudulently acquiring property by exploiting long-standing personal ties.

Officials said a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) about cheating and criminal breach of trust. Further investigation is underway to trace the financial trail and verify property transactions linked to the accused.