Rs 2.87 crore scammed with fake bait of foreign visa: Surat man stays in jail

The case was registered at Pal police station in Surat under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). (Source: File/ Representational)

Canada, Albania and Finland were among the destinations that were allegedly promised to people who sought visas and overseas work permits. But the promise was part of an alleged Rs 2.87 crore fraud involving multiple mobile phone numbers and identities, social media contacts, and payments that were routed through ‘Angadia’ courier channels.

The Gujarat High Court has denied bail to a 25-year-old man from Surat who is accused of masterminding the alleged fraud. The HC described the alleged scam as a serious white-collar offence.

Justice Hasmukh D Suthar last week rejected an application by accused Ankit seeking regular bail in the case. Ankit, who has used the aliases Akshit, Raj, Rocky Patel, and Ashok Patel, has been in custody since March 23.

The case was registered at Pal police station in Surat under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). Counsel for defence argued that Ankit had been “falsely implicated”, and pointed to the absence of a conventional banking trail showing transactions.

The prosecution case, as noted in the order of the Gujarat HC, is that the accused individual posed as an agent who could arrange visas and work permits for people seeking to travel abroad. He allegedly contacted them through social media and by mobile phone, and routed the money he collected from them to Delhi through the Angadia network, which is an informal channel used to transfer cash and valuables.

According to the prosecution, the accused collected a total of Rs 2,87,51,410 from 16 victims as part of the alleged scam. The court also noted statements about 23 alleged clients who had been given visa-related work through an entity called ‘PM Enterprise’. Rs 39.5 lakh was received in that account, and sent to Delhi through Angadia channels, the order noted.

Additional Public Prosecutor Hardik Mehta opposed the accused’s bail plea, saying that he had posed as an agent on social media and promised visas and work permits for Canada, Albania, and Finland. The order recorded an opinion from the Albanian embassy that said a visa document allegedly used in the transactions was fake.

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The accused also allegedly used a Google link, different IP addresses and three mobile phones. He had been involved in four similar cases in the past, and had been in touch with co-accused Rohan and Zakir alias Chaudhary, neither of whom had been arrested, the prosecution submitted.

Advocate K M Shah, who appeared for the applicant, submitted that his client had been falsely implicated, and that the allegations primarily concerned his co-accused Rohan Patel, who was absconding. Counsel informed the court that the alleged offences took place between February and July 2025, while the FIR was registered in March 2026.

Shah also argued that the investigation had been completed and the chargesheet filed, and no further recovery or discovery remained to be made from the applicant.
The defence also relied on the bail granted to co-accused Varun Parmar, and argued that there was no money trail through bank accounts.

On the question of parity, the court said that the applicant’s alleged role was graver than Parmar’s, and observed that the Sessions Judge had released Parmar “without properly considering the material on record”.

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The court also noted that Section 316(5) (aggravated criminal breach of trust), which was added during the investigation, carries a punishment of imprisonment for life, and that two co-accused remained at large.
On the absence of a money trail, the court noted that investigators had recovered Angadia chits and recorded the statements of Angadias. Because the money moved through a private channel, “question does not arise to find money trail in the account of the applicant”, the court held in its order of October 8.

The order also recorded that evidence of a common IP address and email suggested that he acted “in consultation” with the absent co-accused, and that he had used several names and allegedly moved among locations until technical surveillance had led to his arrest.
The case was a white-collar socio-economic offence that was “a class apart”, the HC said. The court cited rulings of the Supreme Court, and said that such matters must be “visited with a different approach”.

While rejecting the bail plea, the court also concluded that misuse of liberty, tampering with prosecution evidence, and flight risk could not be ruled out in the case.

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Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues. Expertise: Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including: Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground. Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure. Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case). Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions. Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More

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