Surat: A diamond worker and 10 others were cheated of Rs 19.45 lakh by a loan agent who used their documents to buy expensive mobile phones and defaulted on repayments.Dindoli police have arrested the accused, identified as Pankaj Patil, and initiated an investigation.According to police, the latest victim, Yogesh Mali (25) of Katargam, approached Patil for a personal loan. Patil persuaded him to opt for a consumer loan instead, claiming it would be cheaper. He then took Mali to different stores in Surat in 2024, bought three high-end phones in his name, and kept them. Patil paid instalments for around 10 months before stopping payments.Mali later learnt that Patil had cheated 10 others — Sagar Rokde, Kalpesh Babul, Bharat Bagul, Dattu More, Akshay Mahajan, Avinash Mali, Bakirao Borse, Bhimrao Rokde, and Manoj Dubey — in the same way during 2023 and 2024. Patil would either sell or mortgage the phones and pocket the money.Police said all the mobiles, including iPhones and Samsung models, were worth Rs 19.45 lakh. Further investigation is underway.
