Five traders cheated of goods worth over ₹53L

Ahmedabad: Five traders have approached different police stations in the city, alleging that a man posing as a wholesale buyer obtained goods worth more than Rs 53 lakh from them and failed to make payments. The complaints, filed on Aug 21 and 22, describe a similar modus operandi involving online business platforms, credit purchases, cheques, and promises of payments.The complaints were filed with Chandkheda, Madhavpura, Vastrapur and Vadaj police. The alleged transactions involved kitchen hardware, footwear, electrical wires and inverter batteries.In the Chandkheda complaint, a furniture and hardware trader alleged that he was contacted through IndiaMART in April. The prospective buyer visited the trader’s office with an associate and claimed to be running a business. He allegedly sought kitchen material on credit, citing a new business. The trader supplied goods in three consignments between April and May, worth Rs 12.2 lakh in total. A cheque issued against the goods was allegedly returned unpaid twice. The complainant said the buyer subsequently stopped responding, and his office was found closed.A footwear trader who approached Madhavpura police alleged that the same buyer contacted his company in Sep 2025 and ordered 524 pairs of footwear worth Rs 1.80 lakh. Two signed cheques were allegedly handed over before the goods were collected through a loading vehicle. Both cheques were later dishonoured, the complaint said.At Vastrapur police station, another footwear manufacturer alleged that 1,686 pairs of slippers worth Rs 1.79 lakh were supplied after the buyer contacted him through IndiaMART. A cheque issued against the consignment was allegedly returned twice due to insufficient funds. The complainant said the buyer later refused payment and abused him on the phone.The Vadaj complaint concerns electrical material. A trader alleged that 100 coils of electrical wire, additional wire and other material worth Rs 14.37 lakh were supplied in July 2025. A cheque for the outstanding amount was allegedly dishonoured twice. The trader said the buyer’s office was later found closed and the premises listed in his GST records had also been vacated.The fifth complaint alleges that 226 batteries worth Rs 22.9 lakh were supplied in 2022 after an online inquiry. A cheque issued against the transaction was returned for insufficient funds. The complainant said he subsequently filed a cheque-bounce case, which is pending.