Surat Textile Firm Duped of ₹40 Lakh by 12 Traders from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka

Surat: A Surat-based textile firm has approached the police after allegedly being cheated of Rs 39.51 lakh by 12 traders from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, along with a cloth broker, through bogus orders and false payment assurances.

According to the complaint, Mahavir Prasad Satyanarayan Sharma, 45, a resident of Sunday Lagoon in Devadh Gam and manager of Shiv Sarathi, a firm located in North Extension near Falsawadi, was approached by broker Bala Murugan Chenyachetti, who operated Vijay Lakshmi Agency in the Falsawadi area.

The broker allegedly contacted Sharma in July 2024 and introduced him to traders from the southern states, claiming that they had a strong reputation in the Surat textile market and offering opportunities for direct business with them.

According to the complaint, Bala Murugan brought 12 traders from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to Sharma’s shop. The traders allegedly obtained ladies’ sarees and other textile goods worth Rs 39.51 lakh on credit against purported orders, promising to make the payments within 60 days.

However, when Sharma began seeking payment after the due date, the broker and the traders allegedly started delaying the payments on various pretexts.

During subsequent inquiries, Sharma allegedly found that the traders had stopped operating from the addresses they had provided and were also no longer answering his calls.

Suspecting that he had been cheated, Sharma approached Mahidharpura police and lodged a complaint against Bala Murugan Chenyachetti of Vijay Lakshmi Agency and the 12 traders, alleging cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The accused have been identified as K. Manivanan, Dev Rajya Lakshmi Dasari, Karuna Needhi Kanthikayen, Sheikh Saheda Begum, Kavethi Sambasiva Rao, Narasimha Murthy N, Devan Madhepalliro Swamisetti, Chinni Gangaraju, Santosh Kaduru, Pasampadamavathi, Nammi Eswar Rau and Taramapalli Mallesh Rau.

PI Kiran Singh Baria of the Economic Offences Cell is investigating the case. DeshGujarat