Ahmedabad: Two men allegedly sold 686 fake passes for Navratri events and cheated buyers of around Rs 8 lakh by running targeted Instagram advertisements, using forged event credentials and issuing fake booking confirmations.City cybercrime police identified the accused as Virendra Singh Rathod, 21, a native of Sikar, Rajasthan, who completed his BBA in Ahmedabad, and Kishan Singh Rathod, 22, a BSc graduate from Rajasthan.The accused allegedly created a fake Instagram account, veer.rajjputtt, and an email ID using the names of the organisers of the “Anant Brahmand” garba event. They advertised discounted passes, misused the event’s name and logo, and collected payments from buyers, police said.The advertisements helped the accused reach a wider audience. According to cybercrime police, posts on the Instagram account were viewed by about 40,000 people in Ahmedabad. The accused allegedly used Meta’s paid advertising facility to target people in specific locations, depending on the venues of the garba events.Police alleged that the accused used ChatGPT to create polished passes and promotional materials featuring barcodes and QR codes to make them look authentic. Buyers who responded to the advertisements were directed to WhatsApp, where the accused allegedly posed as “Veer Rajput” and persuaded them to pay. They also used fake email IDs to send booking confirmations.Police said payments were deposited into a private bank account, with mule accounts allegedly used to withdraw or transfer the money. The accused allegedly continued selling passes even after a case was registered against Rathod at Santej police station in Gandhinagar on Oct 3. He reportedly moved between Jodhpur, Bikaner and Sikar to evade detection.The 686 passes allegedly sold covered 13 events: Mandapam, Chokna Garba, After 11.59 Garba, Offbeat, Vanraatri, Rang Morla, Raatladi, AEMS Ratri and Inner Circle, Paancham na Garba, Anant Experience, Efesto and Safed Parindey.
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