Gandhinagar: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted and two persons, including the Aravalli District Congress chief, have been arrested in connection with an alleged Ponzi-style investment fraud. The case involves a GIFT City-based firm accused of selling digital cloud storage space and promising investors fixed monthly rental returns. The main accused, Utpal Patel, is absconding and police have launched efforts to trace him.

An FIR has been registered at Dabhoda police station against directors and associates of Shootspace Digital, which operated from Flat No. 303, Tower-D, at the WTC Complex in Ratanpur village under Dabhoda police jurisdiction. So far, at least 12 investors have reported losses amounting to Rs 4.9 crore, although investigators suspect the total fraud amount may run into several hundred crores.

According to police, the company portrayed itself as a digital data storage enterprise offering cloud server facilities and attracted investors by promising fixed monthly rental returns for up to 84 months in exchange for purchasing terabytes of digital storage space. Investigators alleged that the firm did not possess sufficient server infrastructure to support such operations and used fake invoices and fabricated financial records to collect investments.

In one case, a family was allegedly lured with promises of profits and foreign tours and invested Rs 32.75 lakh for 84 TB of digital storage space. The family initially received rental income and commissions worth Rs 20.97 lakh between February 2025 and March 2026. Police suspect the initial payouts were part of a strategy commonly used in Ponzi schemes to gain investor confidence and attract further investments before payments abruptly stopped.

Investigators further alleged that instead of developing cloud infrastructure, the funds collected from investors were diverted to associated firms, including Cloudji Technology Limited and Harry Hospitality and Leisure Limited. Police suspect a broader conspiracy involving several individuals linked to the company network.

The SIT has been formed under the supervision of ASP Ayush Jain of Dahegam Division. Police have arrested Congress leader Arun Patel, a board director of the associated firm Cloudji Digital Private Limited and a resident of Bolundra village in Aravalli district, and Sachin Patel, zonal manager of Shootspace Digital, who resides in New Naroda and is originally from Chichano village in Aravalli district.

Both accused have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the GPID Act, and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act on charges including criminal breach of trust, cheating, conspiracy, forgery, and financial fraud. DeshGujarat