Ahmedabad: The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) on Thursday registered a case against the owner and a senior staff member of Troko Logistics Pvt Ltd for allegedly diverting employees’ salaries into a loan application, leaving workers with unpaid dues totaling Rs 8.2 lakh.

The FIR was filed by 23-year-old Shakir Sheikh of Dariapur, who worked as a courier for the company between November 2022 and May 2025. Shakir alleged that in February 2025, the company’s owner, operations manager, and supervisor introduced a mobile app called ‘Karma Life’, claiming it would be used to process salaries digitally to prevent delays.

The FIR stated, “The managers sent a WhatsApp link to download the app and instructed us to upload Aadhaar and PAN details for KYC. We followed the instructions and were told that whenever our salary appeared in the app, we could select a reason for withdrawal, and the money would be transferred to our bank accounts.”

However, in June 2025, several courier employees found that loans had been taken in their names from a finance company without their consent. When confronted, the management assured the workers that the loans would be settled. Later, the Karma Life app sent messages to the affected employees indicating that the loans were still pending.

According to the FIR, the loan of Rs 22,468 in Shakir Sheikh’s account and a total of Rs 8,20,638 for all affected courier employees remain unpaid. The DCB has registered a case against Karan Bothra, Pradeep Singh Kushwah, and Parvez Pathan under Sections 316(2) and 54 of the Indian Penal Code. DeshGujarat