Ahmedabad, June 7 (IANS) Police Sunday detained for questioning a close relative of arrested conman Ashok Jadeja, who is accused of duping thousands of people across India of millions of rupees by posing as a godman, officials said.
“We have detained for questioning a close relative of Jadeja, who is suspected to have been the mastermind behind his long cheating record across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat,” a senior crime branch official said.

Jadeja’s aunt was picked up from Chhara Nagar in Makarba area of the city as complaints continued to flow in from across the country from cheated investors.

According to the official, so far the magnitude of the fraud committed by Jadeja and his agents is estimated to be running into more than Rs.1,000 crore (Rs.10 billion). However, the total amount would be known only during the next few months when all the states where the conman operated calculate his assets and the amount he duped the people of.

A ciy court had already sent 13 of Jadeja’s relatives arrested, among others, to three day police remand till Tuesday as the investigations by the Ahmedabad CID (Crime) branch is yet to be completed.

Police had raided the homes of Jadeja’s relatives residing at Chhara Nagar on the outskirts of the city and have recovered cash, jewellery and movable assets worth Rs.6 lakh (Rs.600,000).

Crime branch sleuths are investigating the background of the 18 of the agents, mentioned in Jadeja’s diary recovered in earlier raids, to know their investments in property and other immovable assets across the country, the official added.