A man posing as a high-ranking government official in Ahmedabad swindled over 275 people out of Rs 3 crore by promising them homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY).
DCP, Zone-1, Balram Meena, revealed that Viramsinh, aka Virendrasinh, a resident of Bopal and a graduate preparing for the Gujarat Public Service Commission exams, introduced himself as a top official in the state secretariat.
“Under the pretext of registering them for the PMAY, the accused took Rs 30,000 from home aspirants, most of whom were women. He also falsely promised some of the victims that he would help them secure shops under the PMAY scheme, for which he collected an initial amount of Rs 50,000.”
Viramsinh staged fake draws and showed fabricated results to the victims who had paid the registration fees. He demanded Rs 1.4 lakh to Rs 1.6 lakh for documentation from winners. This elaborate scheme primarily targeted residents of Vastrapur, Naranpura, and Sola. “The total amount defrauded so far stands at Rs 3 crore, but we suspect it could rise as others have begun contacting us,” a police official said.