Promise to influence EOW probe costs farmer Rs 5.35L

Surat: A 36-year-old Surat farmer has filed a cheating complaint at Umra police station against alleged conman Anil Vibhani, accusing him of taking Rs 5.35 lakh on the pretext of influencing an Economic Offences Wing (EOW) investigation in his favour.

Vibhani, who was recently arrested by Ahmedabad police in another cheating case, allegedly lured the victim, Fenil Patel, by claiming he could secure a favourable outcome in a case being probed by the Surat police EOW.

According to police, Patel had filed a land dispute case that was under investigation by the Surat police EOW. In Oct 2025, he met Vibhani through a common acquaintance. During a meeting, Vibhani allegedly claimed he had links with senior police officials and could influence the probe.

He allegedly told Patel that money would be required to bribe officials and collected Rs 5.35 lakh through multiple transactions. To gain Patel’s confidence, Vibhani allegedly kept providing updates on the progress of the case.

Police said Vibhani later claimed that the opposing party in the dispute had been arrested and would be brought to the Crime Branch office at Chowk Bazar. He asked Patel to wait for a call before arriving there, but subsequently stopped responding, prompting Patel to realise he had been cheated.

A case has been registered against Vibhani, who police said is a habitual offender named in multiple cheating cases involving large sums of money.