In bad faith

The Gujarat police say he made his millions by duping people from his own community after weaving rich dreams for them....

The Gujarat police say he made his millions by duping people from his own community after weaving rich dreams for them. A self-styled godman,Ashok Jadeja would tell his future victims to give him money,assuring them that he would pay back double or triple the amount in a few days.

Mataji asked me to take care of you people. She has given me the sole responsibility to double your money to ensure our tribe becomes the richest in the world, the 33-year-old would tell huge gatherings of Chharas once labelled by the British as a nomadic criminal tribe and denotified who today live in pockets across the country.

Jadeja managed to convince a large number of people with his claims,with some even selling their property to give him money. According to the Gujarat CID,560 complaints were registered against Jadeja in Gujarat,Delhi,Punjab,Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir until May 31 the day Jadeja was arrested along with his wife. And the number of cases is growing. The money he made allegedly runs into crores the police are still counting. The CID suspects a total of Rs 15 crore from Gujarat,and a complaint of Rs 20 crore was registered in Jaipur in Rajasthan. Agitated Chharas have also written a letter to Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah,alleging that Jadejas fraudulent earnings from Gujarat were as high as Rs 1,600 crore.

THE GODMAN

The police are still investigating when Jadeja,who has a homeopathy degree,styled himself into a godman. What they know is that he began his new career at a temple dedicated to Vahanvati Shikotar Mataji,the goddess Chharas worship.

The Ahmedabad police,which recorded the first FIR against Jadeja,say he would sit with a donation box. Claiming divine powers,his initial targets were women of the community. Jadeja would invite them for religious rituals and then lure them into contributing whatever they could. Initially,Jadeja rarely managed to garner more than Rs 100 to Rs 200 at a time,but his earnings soon ran to lakhs and crores as his followers became increasingly swayed by him. People would wait long hours to hear him speak,some would touch his feet. He slowly started drawing huge crowds in Chharanagar,Kaligam,Sabarmati,Manianagar and his own neighbourhood,Sarkhej,known as a Chhara pocket in Ahmedabad.

He lived besides the temple in Makarba with his wife,Nita,a Rajasthan native who allegedly helped him run the lucrative business.

THE CHEAT

The police say Jadeja started minting money from January this year,and his operations had a wide reach. He started duping people only four months ago in January. But he was prepared with a network of agents and family members to trap people in different areas, said a police officer. He started with a woman in Ahmedabad. He took some money from her and claimed that if she demanded money early,then some untoward incident would happen in her family. Unfortunately,the family witnessed a tragic accident and that made the Chharas believe that he had divine powers, the officer added.

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Police say that 40 others are accused along with Jadeja. He operated with a group of more than 15 family members residing in various parts of Gujarat. In addition,he had appointed nearly 20 agents in and outside Gujarat to lure the Chharas. His wifes connections in Rajasthan,meanwhile,lured victims in Bhilwara,Ajmer and Jaipur.

The police say Jadeja had followers in 11 states,including Maharashtra,Rajasthan,Delhi,Punjab,Jamp; K and UP.

R K Patel,Deputy SP,CID,who is investigating the case,said,Jadeja went missing on May 13,two days before his deadline to repay three times the amount he had taken from a group of Chharas in Ahmedabad.

His brothers,Kanti,Dhiru and his cousin Hakamsinh now in CID custody and nephews Rahul and Shashikant were the key players. Two of the agents,Babulal Rathod and Suratararam Sisodia are in remand,although others in the network are still untraceable, Patel said.

THE SPOILS

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Patel says the quick money Jadeja earned was used for real-estate investments in Sanand,Mehsana and Ahmedabad. Another police officer said,He wanted to get rich instantly. He used to spend on gold,diamonds and jewellery.

The CID has so far recovered property worth Rs 5 to 10 crore from Jadeja. It has also seized accounts/records of money collected from people across the country. Jadeja also made a movie on his special powers,starring Gujarati film actors. The Chharas were asked to compulsorily buy his CD a set of three costing Rs 200 during his public meetings and functions.