School trustee duped of Rs 2 crore in fake donation scam

Surat: A trustee of a private school in Surat was allegedly cheated of Rs 2 crore after fraudsters lured him with the promise of securing a Rs 4 crore donation for the institution. Mahidharpura police registered an FIR on Saturday against Aakash Dhyaneshwar and two employees of an angadia firm in connection with the case.

According to the complaint filed by Rajeev Singh, 39, trustee of Mount Litera Zee School in Diamond City, the alleged fraud began around eight months ago when a woman identified as Dipika visited the school to deliver a speech during a Women’s Day function. During a conversation, Singh reportedly told her to inform him if she knew of anyone interested in donating to the school.

Police said Dipika contacted Singh on May 14 and claimed that a company was willing to donate Rs 4 crore to the institution. However, she allegedly told him that he would first have to arrange Rs 2 crore in cash, against which the company would transfer double the amount into the school trust’s bank account. She also allegedly demanded Rs 40 lakh as commission for arranging the deal.

On May 21, Dipika arranged a meeting in Adajan where Singh met several persons, including Vikas Vasava, Ashwin, Vinod Patel and Kirit Atodariya. The following day, Singh was allegedly called to angadia firm Patel Mukesh Kumar and Co in Mahidharpura, where he met the group along with Aakash Dhyaneshwar, who was introduced as a representative of a Mumbai-based company.

On May 25, Singh arranged Rs 2 crore through another angadia firm and handed over the cash. The accused allegedly assured him that the promised donation would soon be credited to the school’s account. However, after waiting for hours, Singh found the angadia office deserted and the Dhayneshwar’s phone was switched off. Realising he had been duped, he approached the police and lodged a complaint.

Police have started an investigation and are trying to trace the accused.