Gujarat: 7 held in Ahmedabad weighbridge fraud; scam pegged at up to Rs 100 cr
Ahmedabad, April 13 (IANS) The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has arrested seven people for allegedly operating a sophisticated inter-state fraud involving manipulation of electronic weighbridge systems to cheat companies during scrap transactions, officials said on Monday.
According to the Crime Branch, the gang was active across multiple states and committed fraud by tampering with electronic weighing machines used to weigh scrap material.
The operation came to light following specific intelligence inputs, after which investigators conducted technical analysis and field inquiries.
Police said the accused installed specialised chips in weighbridge machines, enabling them to interfere with the weight display system.
They also used remote-control devices to alter readings and generate false weight slips that showed lower weights than the actual load.
This allowed them to unlawfully gain during scrap purchases.
Inspector Nikhil Brahmbhatt said, “In Gujarat and its neighbouring states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, there are several scrap traders and large companies where scrap tenders are issued. In these tenders, a gang would place the highest bids and commit fraud. We have arrested seven members of this gang.”
Investigators said the accused would participate in scrap tenders issued by companies and industrial units or acquire scrap through auction bidding.
After securing deals, they allegedly tampered with weighbridge systems at the sites through associates with technical expertise, underreporting the actual weight of scrap and cheating scrapyard operators and site owners.
Acting on precise information that gang members were gathering with illegal equipment in the Vatva GIDC area, a Crime Branch team conducted a raid and apprehended all seven accused from the location.
A Crime Branch official told IANS, “We received specific inputs about their gathering. All seven were apprehended from Vatva GIDC in Ahmedabad.”
An official added that the fraud is estimated at between Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore and said that companies affected include Adani Group, Reliance Industries, and Essar, among others.
“We have approached the companies to take part in the inquiry. We also suspect that employees such as security guards can be part of this operation,” an official noted.
The official further stated that the alleged mastermind has been identified as Rajnish Kashyap, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, who is currently absconding.
“Two more individuals from Noida and New Delhi are believed to be linked to this fraud,” the official told IANS.
The arrested accused have been identified as Hemantkumar Raval (33), Sanket Raval (24), Vijay Thakor (36), Manish Rabari (27), Vinod Patni (36), Mukesh Patni (31), and Sunil Patni (36).
Police said they are residents of Ahmedabad and nearby districts, with native places in Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Gandhinagar and Patan.
Officials said six other persons have been named as wanted in the case, including Rajnish Kashyap, Chirag Goswami alias Chirag Bawa, Sunil Bodi, Vinod Champo, Ashok Gugo and Sanjay Patni.
During the operation, the police seized four electronic chips valued at Rs 80,000, 13 remote control devices valued at Rs 65,000, 12 mobile phones valued at Rs 2.65 lakh, and a car valued at Rs 15 lakh.
The total value of the seized property is estimated at Rs 19.10 lakh.
Further investigation into the case is ongoing.
–IANS
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