Gujarat: Textile trader booked for cheating three firms out of Rs 74 lakh

Ahmedabad: A textile trader accused of defaulting on payments worth over Rs 73.8 lakh for bulk fabric purchases from three wholesale firms in the city was booked for cheating and criminal breach by the economic offences wing (EOW) of the city crime branch. Giriraj Mohata (23), a Motera resident who manages the operations of his family's textile businesses in the New Cloth Market in Raipur, filed a complaint with the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) police on Tuesday.According to the complaint, the accused, Harsh Dubey, a resident fo Vastral who runs a firm named Om Enterprise, first approached Mohata's shop in Aug 2018, seeking to purchase shirting fabric in bulk. Claiming he worked at a textile factory and had several wholesale clients, Dubey allegedly assured the complainant that payments would be cleared within 90 days and provided his GST details.Trusting his assurances, the complainant's three family-run firms — Motilal Punamchand, Mahalaxmi Trading Company, and Mahalaxmi Textiles —began supplying shirting fabric to the accused on credit between Aug and Oct 2018. Police said the accused purchased fabric worth Rs 7.32 lakh from Motilal Punamchand, Rs 50.41 lakh from Mahalaxmi Trading Company, and Rs 17.05 lakh from Mahalaxmi Textile through multiple invoices. However, he allegedly paid only Rs 90,000 in instalments until Dec 2019 and failed to clear the remaining dues of Rs 73.88 lakh.When repeatedly approached for payment, Dubey allegedly kept delaying the settlement on various pretexts. At one point, he reportedly offered to sell a bungalow in Lambha or a shop near Narol crossroads to adjust the outstanding amount, but the deal never materialised.The complainant further alleged that the accused obtained the goods using his GST registration, availed tax benefits, and later cancelled the GST number in Dec 2019.The EOW registered offences of cheating and breach of trust and launched an investigation into the case. Police said financial records and transaction details submitted by the complainant were being examined as part of the probe.