Ahmedabad, Oct 19 The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch on Monday said it has arrested two men from Rajasthan for allegedly cheating people of Rs 8 lakh by selling bogus passes for garba events during Navratri through Instagram using forged email IDs, WhatsApp chats and digitally created tickets.
The accused allegedly sold 686 fake passes worth Rs 8 lakh for several high-end garba events in Ahmedabad by advertising discounted tickets on social media, according to a press release by the Cyber Crime Branch.
The two, residents of Sikar in Rajasthan, were identified as Virendrasinh Rathod, 21, and Kishansinh Rathod, 22, both graduates, and they were arrested on a complaint lodged by an Ahmedabad-based garba organiser, said police.
According to police, the fraud came to light after the complaint was lodged over the misuse of the name and logo of “Anant Brahmand”, a garba event organised by the complainant’s company.
The accused allegedly created a fake Instagram account and an email ID to advertise tickets at discounted prices without the organiser’s knowledge. The duo followed a systematic method to make the fraudulent ticket sales appear genuine, they said.
They allegedly created and professionally maintained Instagram profile to gain the trust of potential buyers. Using Meta’s paid advertising facility, the two men targeted people in areas where garba events were scheduled to take place.
The advertisements reportedly reached around 40,000 people in Ahmedabad, said the Cyber Crime Branch, citing investigation conducted so far.
The accused allegedly prepared bogus passes and promotional material with the help of ChatGPT, using details of various garba events to make the tickets look authentic. They incorporated technical elements, including barcodes and QR codes, to give the passes a genuine appearance, stated police.
Once prospective customers responded to the advertisements, the accused allegedly shifted conversations to WhatsApp, where they communicated professionally under the name “Veer Rajput” and persuaded people to purchase the passes, they said.
To win the trust of potential customers, they allegedly created different email IDs in the names of garba events and sent customers booking confirmations and emails after receiving payments, according to the release.
The money collected from customers was deposited into an HDFC Bank account linked to the accused, after which mule accounts were allegedly used to withdraw or transfer the funds elsewhere, police said.
One of the accused, Virendrasinh Rathod, had also been booked in a case registered at the Santej police station in Gandhinagar on October 3 under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. The accused allegedly continued selling bogus garba event passes even after the case had been registered against him, police said.
They reportedly stayed at different locations in Rajasthan, including Jodhpur, Bikaner and Sikar, to conceal their identities and whereabouts.
According to the release, the accused allegedly sold 686 passes for various events. These included 167 passes for Mandapam, 122 for Chokna Garba and 118 for After 11:59 shows.
Passes were also allegedly sold for garba shows titled Offbeat, Navratri, Rang Morlo and Safed Parinde, among others, the release added.
(PTI News)
