Surat: A well-known stock trader from Surat’s Adajan area and his business partners were allegedly cheated of Rs 12.63 crore after investing in a resort and hospitality project in Maharashtra, with police arresting three members of a family accused of removing investors from the venture and taking control of the business.

The accused Khushmanbhai Revashankar Patel, his wife Punitaben, and son Smit Patel, residents of Tadwadi-Rander  were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police following a complaint filed by investor Chandreshbhai Jayantilal Lakdawala. Police have also registered a case against two Maharashtra residents linked to the project.

According to police, Chandreshbhai Lakdawala, 55, a resident of Wadia Nagar in Adajan and a stock trader with an office at Pal, was approached by the Patel family in 2018 with a proposal to invest in a large tourism project at Lakkadkot village in Navapur taluka of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district.

The project involved developing Roccia Hill Resort and Adventure Park along with Jalsa Bar and Restaurant. The accused allegedly claimed they owned land worth crores and sought investors due to a funding shortage. Lured by promises of high monthly returns, Lakdawala and his associates, Gautam Babu Jain, Paresh Harilal Parmar and Pravin Babu Parmar, agreed to join the venture after visiting the project site.

Police said Lakdawala invested Rs 1.38 crore between 2019 and 2023, while Gautam Jain and Paresh Parmar invested around Rs 5.25 crore through their families. Another investor, Pravin Parmar, invested Rs 75 lakh. Together, the total investment allegedly reached Rs 12.63 crore.

Investigators said the accused initially paid returns between February 2023 and July 2024 to gain the investors’ trust. However, despite the business reportedly performing well, payments later stopped and financial accounts were not shared with partners.

According to the complaint, the accused later changed the name of Jalsa Bar and Restaurant to Hotel Grand Carnival Permit Room and Beer Bar, obtained a new GST registration and allegedly removed the original investors from the business without notice.

Police further said the investors later found that a 25-year lease agreement related to adjacent land for the restaurant project had allegedly not been legally registered, despite assurances given during the partnership process.

The dispute escalated when investors sought details of an estimated profit of Rs 5.50 crore generated from the business. The complainants alleged they received evasive responses and were eventually barred from entering the premises after a notice prohibiting their entry was put up at the project gate in October 2025.

Police said further investigation is underway to determine the money trail and identify any additional persons involved in the alleged fraud. DeshGujarat