Four cheat farmer out of 50L in land deal

Rajkot: Four men were booked for cheating a farmer of Rs 50 lakh and firing six rounds in the air to threaten his family when he asked them to return his money.

The 60-year-old farmer, Mahesh Kotadiya, lodged a complaint against Karan Thunga, Divyesh Barad, Pratap Dhadhal and Rupesh Nandha on Tuesday at Gondal City B Division police station.

Kotadiya alleged that the accused took Rs 50 lakh from and later cheated him.

Dhadhal allegedly fired six rounds to threaten Kotadiya's relatives, warning them not to claim the money or land. Kotadiya had put up his 66 square yard house in the Bhojrajpara area for sale.

Thunga and Barad approached him, claiming they had a potential buyer, Rupesh Nandha from Surat. They told Kotadiya that Dhadhal owned 25 bighas of land in Monpar village. They planned to buy it and then sell it to Nandha at the rate of Rs 28 lakh per bigha, making a profit of Rs 8 lakh per bigha. They promised Kotadiya Rs 1.2 crore for his house in return.

On Nov 1, 2023, the deal was finalized, and Kotadiya gave Rs 50 lakh as an advance to Dhadhal. When he contacted Nandha later, he kept making excuses and avoided payment. Kotadiya then realized he had been cheated.