Swaminarayan monks among 8 booked in ₹4.5 cr temple land fraud in Vadodara village

Anand Rural Police have registered a case against eight people, including two monks from the Swaminarayan sect, for allegedly cheating a builder from Ahmedabad of ₹4.5 crore in a land deal linked to a proposed temple project near Vadodara.

According to the police complaint, the accused include monks Dev Prakash alias DP Swami and Ved Prakash alias VP Swami, along with Sanidhya Chauhan, Vishal Thakor, Ruturajsinh Jadeja alias Kanbha, Jaypalsinh Jadeja, Jacky Rami and Udaybhai.

The complaint was filed by Jeevanbhai Tokarbhai Parmar, a resident of Ahmedabad’s Satellite area who deals in land transactions and construction, through his son Jainish Parmar.

Deal pitched as land for temple and gaushala 

Jainish was first introduced to Sanidhya Chauhan, who frequently visited his office and later connected him with other accused from Ahmedabad and Sanand. The group told the Parmars about a plan to purchase land near Jhawol village in Savli taluka of Vadodara district to build a Swaminarayan temple and cow shelter (gaushala).

They invited the father and son to a farmhouse in Chikhodra, where they met DP Swami and VP Swami. The monks reportedly assured them that they were keen to acquire land for the project and that the investors could make a profit by handling the initial purchase.

₹4.5 crore transferred on promise of profit

Later, the complainants visited the land site and met one Jacky Rami, who quoted a price of ₹48.21 lakh per vigha, putting the value of the entire parcel of land at around ₹15 crore. An MoU was signed for the proposed transaction.

Ruturajsinh Jadeja allegedly told the Parmars that the accused had arranged to purchase the land through intermediaries and that, once secured, it would be sold to DP Swami and VP Swami at a higher rate. The Parmars were persuaded to invest on the promise that the profit from this resale would be shared among the investors. Police said the arrangement appeared to function more like an investment scheme than a direct sale.

Trusting this arrangement, the Parmars paid ₹2.5 crore in March 2023 and another ₹2 crore in April 2023, totalling ₹4.5 crore. A notarised agreement stated that the monks would pay ₹8 crore within 15 days and the remaining amount in three-month instalments.

Excuses and further demands for money

When the Parmars followed up on the promised payment, the monks gave them a token amount of ₹71 lakh, of which ₹35 lakh went to Ruturajsinh. They later claimed that a large amount of foreign funding was expected but that they first needed to clear tax dues. On this pretext, they allegedly took another ₹30 lakh from the complainant.

The deal kept getting delayed, with the accused giving various excuses and failing to complete the transaction.

Previous complaints against accused

Subsequent inquiries revealed that several fraud complaints were already pending against DP Swami. Police also found that cheques issued by Jacky Rami to farmers for land purchases had bounced.

Police investigation underway

Realising he had been defrauded, Jeevanbhai Parmar lodged a formal complaint with the Anand Rural Police. A case of cheating and criminal conspiracy has been registered against the two monks and six others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Police said a detailed investigation is in progress to trace the money trail and verify the ownership and title details of the land involved.