City trader defrauds Bengal educationist of Rs 1.16 cr

Chattrapati Sambhajinagar: A case has been registered against Ganesh Saraf of Gshan Infrabuild LLP at the Pundalik Nagar police station for defrauding Naresh Agrawal from Siliguri (West Bengal) of Rs 1.16 crore under the pretext of supplying iron for school construction.

Naresh Agrawal operates an educational institution in Siliguri and requires a large quantity of iron in a short time for the construction of the school and hostel. He received information about Saraf from a businessman in Nagpur and contacted him. Saraf insisted on discussing costs only after seeing the actual construction site and requested an advance of Rs 2.5 lakh. Agrawal complied and provided the amount.

After the site visit, Saraf indicated in January 2023 that he would supply 330 tons of materials. For this, Agrawal paid Rs 1.5 crore in February. Between January 2023 and September 2024, Agrawal transferred a total of Rs 5.27 crore to Saraf. In return, Saraf sent 247 tons of materials worth Rs 4.11 crore. However, he delayed sending the remaining materials valuing Rs 1.16 crore.

After receiving no responses, Agrawal filed a complaint with the police. Inspector Sambhaji Pawar of the Economic Offence Wing (EoW) is conducting further investigations.