A senior bank manager in Ahmedabad lost ₹33.50 lakh in an alleged visa scam orchestrated by Mumbai-based Alpa Thakkar of Atlantic Study Overseas, as two new fraud cases emerge amid rising concerns over immigration scams in Gujarat.
Parth Patel, a Naroda resident, filed a complaint with CID (Crime) alleging that Alpa Thakkar and her associates Rajul Kulshresth, Drashti Patel and Raj Thakkar defrauded him and his friend of a total of ₹47.67 lakh. Alpa Thakkar allegedly pitched their visa services during a presentation at Crowne Plaza Hotel on S G Highway.
According to the complaint, while Patel paid ₹33.50 lakh, his friend Pinkesh Patel paid an additional ₹14.17 lakh for Canadian visa processing services that were never delivered.
Earlier this week, Atlantic Study was accused of duping Sabarkantha-resident Jaydeep Patel of ₹34 lakh. Alpa Thakkar and her associates allegedly stopped taking Patel’s calls after he forked over the amount.
In a separate case, the Anand Nagar police in Ahmedabad are investigating allegations against a Shyamal-based visa consultancy after a mother-daughter duo lost ₹13.50 lakh in a UK visa scam. The complainant, Krishna Rathod, and her daughter were stranded in Azerbaijan for over 2.5 months after paying ₹15 lakh for UK visas.
The accused in this case include Ashish Barot, Priyanka Barot, and Vachika Shelat. The victims were sent to Azerbaijan from Mumbai on May 6 but were ultimately denied travel to the UK.
These cases follow recent investigations by Gandhinagar CID (Crime) into other visa fraud incidents, highlighting a growing pattern of immigration scams targeting foreign aspirants in Gujarat.