Street Vendor Becomes Unwitting Owner in Multi-Crore Shell Company Scam
The Ahmedabad City Cybercrime Police has uncovered a sophisticated network of shell companies that used people from humble backgrounds as fronts to facilitate bank transactions worth Rs 129 crore, with the latest arrest involving Hiralba Jadeja, who identifies as the wife of former Gujarat MLA Bhura Munja Jadeja.
In a startling revelation, police discovered that the owner of Vitthal Pulse Commodities - one of the shell companies under investigation - is actually a 34-year-old gola (ice lolly) vendor from the streets of Junagadh city, who was completely unaware of the massive financial operations being conducted in his name.
The Elaborate Cyber Fraud Operation
The case came to light when a 35-year-old acupressure therapist from Ahmedabad filed a complaint in October 2024 after being cheated of Rs 31.59 lakh. The victim was added to a WhatsApp group called 'Motilal Oswal Invest Club' where accused persons promised him huge returns on stock market investments and Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).
After gaining his trust, the fraudsters convinced him to transfer money for investments, leading to 12 transactions totaling Rs 31.59 lakh before he realized he was being scammed. The complainant immediately contacted the cybercrime helpline '1930' to report the fraud.
During investigation, police traced Rs 50,000 to an IDBI Bank account and Rs 3.25 lakh to an Axis Bank account, both linked to Hiralba Jadeja (60) of Porbandar and Naitik Mavani, a Mumbai resident who remains absconding.
The Shell Company Network Exposed
The breakthrough in this complex case came from an unrelated investigation by the Junagadh Police Special Operations Group (SOG). While probing a case filed on May 30, 2025, the SOG uncovered that a group from Porbandar had created three shell firms - Arham Commodities, Vitthal Pulse Commodities, and Bharat Enterprise - using identities of people with modest means.
These entities were used to open 22 accounts across 9 different banks, with police discovering that 83 cybercrime complaints had been filed against 11 of these bank accounts on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal across 17 states and one Union Territory.
Police Inspector P S Makwana, the Investigation Officer, revealed that the gola vendor was made a witness after he stated that Sachin Kanakrai Mehta (48) of Junaghad had involved him in the enterprise without his full understanding of the operations.
Hiralba Jadeja's Criminal Trail
Hiralba Jadeja, who has been in judicial custody since May 1, 2025, now faces her fifth criminal case. Her arrest history includes:
- April 30, 2025: Booked for abduction, extortion and criminal intimidation in Porbandar
- May 15, 2025: Charged with possession of cybercrime proceeds in benami accounts
- May 30, 2025: Named in Junagadh Range Cybercrime case for forming shell companies
- July 21, 2025: Booked under Gujarat Money Lenders Act for illegal confinement and extortion
The accused belongs to a politically connected family, being the sister-in-law of the late Santokben Jadeja, notorious as the 'Godmother' of Gujarat, and the wife of former MLA Bhura Munja Jadeja who was elected from Ranavav-Kutiyana constituency in 1995.
Police investigations indicate that the proceeds from these cybercrimes were likely sent abroad, with Dubai, UAE being the suspected destination. Both Hiralba Jadeja and co-accused Sachin Mehta remain in judicial custody while the hunt continues for Naitik Mavani, the alleged handler of the bank accounts.
