Conman tries to cheat firm that bought Modi suit

SURAT: A conman from Haryana made an attempt to cheat Dharmanandan Diamonds, the company owned by Lalji Patel who bought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suit in an auction, of Rs 3 crore by presenting a duplicate cheque. Patel had won the bid for the suit in the auction held in the city on February 20 by quoting Rs 4.31 crore.
Dharmanandan Diamonds chief accountant Madhu Patel registered a complaint at Katargam police station on Thursday.He said a cheque of Rs 3 crore was presented in HDFC Bank account of Dharmanandan Diamonds for clearance. The cheque had number 001499 as its last six digits. The number of the cheque paid as payment for Modi’s suit was 001490. The duplicate cheque was drawn in favour of LRC Roadways, having account number 14332000001861 in HDFC Bank’s branch in Hisar in Haryana.
“HDFC Bank officials called me up when the cheque came up for clearance. I checked and found the cheque number quoted to me was still with me,” said Madhu Patel. We immediately ordered the bank to stop the payment. Dharmanandan Diamonds is a Rs 6,000 crore firm in Surat.
Patel believes the duplicate was made from the photocopy of the original cheque leaf that was displayed at the auction venue and later circulated on the social media.
Police feel the conman took the photocopy of the cheque and got a new cheque book printed. The signature of Lalji Patel on the cheque was also fudged.
Police inspector PK Diyora said, “We have got the details of the account holder in Hisar from the HDFC Bank. A three-member police team has left for Hisar to nab him.”
Additional commissioner of police CR Parmar said, “Things would become clear once our team catches the culprit.”
The case has been registered under IPC sections 406, 420, 465, 467, 468 and 471 and Information Technology Act sections 65 and 66(c) (d).