The Gandhidham police arrested Ahmedabad resident Ritesh Joshi for defrauding an Anjar resident of ₹15,000 by posing as MP Vinod Chavda of Kutch. This arrest follows a series of similar scams dating back to 2021, highlighting a pattern of fraudulent activities by the accused.

On August 23, Mohit Prabhakar, a resident in Anjar, reported to the police that he received a phone call from an unknown number, where the caller identified himself as MP Vinod Chavda and requested ₹15,000 for Ganpati celebrations. The caller provided a bank account number for the transfer, which Prabhakar complied with at first. Suspicious of the transaction later, Prabhakar verified the caller’s number and discovered it was a fraud.

The Gandhidham B Division police acted swiftly, forming a special team that tracked down Joshi from Ahmedabad’s Bapunagar. During interrogation, Joshi admitted to previously impersonating the MP for similar fraudulent activities.

Joshi’s fraudulent scheme dates back to 2021, when he initially used the MP’s name to scam individuals under the guise of raising funds for Covid-19 relief. On May 20, 2021, Joshi defrauded Avnish Neka Ram Tripathi, a resident of Meghpar Kumbhardi’s Pushp Cottage Society, by pretending to be the MP and soliciting donations for Covid-19 patients. He collected a substantial sum of ₹6,96,000 in various bank accounts .

In another instance on June 5, 2021, Joshi contacted Dipak Kewal Krishna Arora, general manager at Varrsana Ispat Limited, demanding ₹1 lakh as a donation for Covid-19 relief. When Arora grew suspicious and reported the scam to the Anjar police, Joshi’s fraudulent activities came under further scrutiny.

Joshi also attempted to defraud the director of Maan Industries India Pvt Ltd on June 21, 2021, by soliciting ₹2.5 lakh for temple donations in Gandhidham, again using the MP’s name as a cover.

Joshi, who had been previously apprehended for similar scams in Kutch, is now facing additional charges. The Gandhidham B Division police, led by PI S V Gojia, have secured a one-day remand for Joshi to facilitate further investigation.

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