Ahmedabad: A man allegedly posing as a director of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) cheated a woman and six others of Rs 19.6 lakh by promising to arrange affordable houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), police said.The accused, Rajeshsinh Rathod, allegedly collected money from the group after claiming that he could secure Auda houses for them. He later issued cheques to repay the money, but all cheques bounced.A 40-year-old woman, who does tailoring work from home, approached Vastrapur police on Tuesday and lodged a complaint against Rathod. According to the complaint, she came in contact with him through an acquaintance in Nov 2025.Rathod allegedly introduced himself as member of Auda board of directors and told the woman that he could arrange a house under govt housing scheme. He allegedly said she would have to pay an initial amount, after which he would arrange a loan and get a house allotted to her within three months.Trusting him, the woman paid him Rs 1.6 lakh on Nov 6, 2025. Of this, Rs 53,000 was transferred online from her father’s bank account to Rathod’s account, while Rs 1.1 lakh was paid in cash.The woman subsequently introduced Rathod to six others who were also seeking houses under the scheme. They allegedly paid him between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh each through cash and bank transfers, taking the total amount collected to Rs 19.6 lakh.When the promised houses were not allotted, the group repeatedly questioned Rathod. He allegedly kept delaying the matter and gave them different explanations.On July 2, Rathod allegedly executed separate notarised agreements with the complainants, promising to return their money within a month. He also issued cheques drawn on his IndusInd Bank account for the respective amounts.However, when the group deposited the cheques after the repayment deadline, all of them were returned unpaid, the complaint stated.The group then made inquiries with Auda and allegedly learnt that Rathod was neither a director nor employed there.Police said one of the group members had earlier submitted an application against Rathod. Subsequently, the woman approached Vastrapur police and lodged the complaint.
