Rajkot: Dwarka police have booked a local resident for allegedly duping devotees of Rs 1.02 lakh by issuing forged receipts for Dhwaja (flag) offerings at the famous Shree Dwarkadhish Temple.The accused, identified as Shivam Thakar, allegedly collected Rs 51,000 each from two devotees, Puja Mewada and Deep Mer, by issuing fake receipts for Dhwaja bookings. The payments, according to police, were directly transferred to Thakar’s bank account.The fraud came to light when Tirthrajsinh Rajput, a resident of Bhuj-Kutch, approached the Samast Gugali Brahmin Gnati 505, which manages the Dhwaja rituals at the temple, seeking confirmation of booking dates. He submitted two receipts along with payment details for verification.The organisation’s manager, Dhaval Devmurari, found that the receipts were counterfeit. They allegedly carried forged signatures of Devmurari and lacked the official contact details of the trust.The payment records and transaction screenshots subsequently showed that the Rs 1.02 lakh paid for the two bookings had been transferred to Thakar’s bank account. Suspecting fraud, Devmurari approached the police, following which an FIR was registered against Thakar under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Police are investigating whether other devotees may have been similarly duped.
