A garment trader who allegedly paid Rs one lakh each to 1,033 shopkeepers of Surat’s textile market through WhatsApp and text messages. BJP The arrest was made on Saturday on the complaint of the city president of the party.
Dinesh Rathod, 36, allegedly messaged shopkeepers asking them to pay Rs 5 lakh each towards the market lease amount and deposit it in the form of two checks- one Rs 4 lakh (in the name of the market) and the other 1 lakh for Rs. BJP. He was charged under sections 420 (cheating) and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The purported WhatsApp message of the trader attached with the police complaint lodged by former mayor Niranjan Janjhamera translates as follows: It is a humble request to every shopkeeper to deposit the market lease amount of Rs 5 lakh by March 5. Done in two cheques, one out of Rs 4 lakh which should be in the name of Surat textile market and the other for Rs 1 lakh for BJP (eligible for income tax deduction). I request all of you to deposit these checks in the market office as soon as possible. For more details contact me Dinesh Rathod, Member, Surat Textile Market Cooperative Shops and Warehouse Society Ltd.
An office-bearer of the society said on condition of anonymity that the municipal corporation had leased the land for the textile market about 50 years ago for 99 years, with the condition that the lease amount would be revised after 50 years. In 2018, the corporation revised the amount to Rs 127 crore. The market association then struck a deal with the corporation, asking it to revise the amount and requesting the option of installments for payment, he said.
The society had already written to all the shopkeepers asking them to pay Rs 5 lakh each as part payment of Rs 10 lakh towards the total lease amount to be deposited in the corporation. The accused Rathod is also an office-bearer of the society.
Sub-Inspector PY Chitte of Salabatpura police station said that the matter is being investigated.