The Ahmedabad garba pass scam has led to the arrest of two Rajasthan residents after police alleged that they created and sold more than 600 duplicate passes for at least 20 prominent garba events, collecting about Rs 8 lakh from buyers. The arrests followed complaints from people who purchased discounted passes through an Instagram account but were denied entry at event venues.
According to the investigation reported by Divya Bhaskar, the accused used the Instagram account ‘Veer Rajput’ to advertise passes for Ahmedabad garba events before Navratri. The account offered passes at discounts of up to 50%, attracting buyers looking for cheaper access to popular events. Some buyers discovered the fraud only after reaching the venues and finding that their passes were not valid.
Complaints were filed with several Ahmedabad police stations and the cybercrime unit. The investigation reportedly traced the operation to Rajasthan, where police arrested Veer Rajput and his associate Kishan Rathod.
Police said the accused had targeted audiences in Ahmedabad through Meta advertisements. Investigators alleged that the accused visited the original websites of different garba events, copied the live images used on those websites and created duplicate passes. The report said ChatGPT was then used to place QR codes on the copied designs. The accused also created email addresses resembling the names of the events to make the passes appear genuine.
The duplicate passes were reportedly sold for events including After 11.59, Mandapam Chowk Garba, Off Beat, V One Ratri, Rang Morlo, Raatladi, Amdavad Ratri, Inner Circle, Pancham Na Garba, Anant Experience and Safed Parinde. The report said the accused created and sold approximately 640 fake passes across these events.
During the investigation, one accused reportedly produced a duplicate pass in a matter of minutes in the presence of police using ChatGPT. Police also found that he had previously worked for an event-management company associated with the Pink Butterfly garba event. According to the report, he learned how to create fake passes while working there. The report further stated that he had earlier committed a fraud of Rs 35,000 connected to the event but returned the money, after which no complaint was filed at the time.
The case highlights the risks faced by large urban events that rely on digital passes, QR codes and social-media promotions to manage entry. Buyers who rely on unofficial discount offers can lose money and be turned away even after travelling to a venue. For organisers, the reported fraud also raises questions about how quickly copied pass designs, fake event-linked email addresses and externally promoted QR codes can be detected.
The arrests followed the complaints received by Ahmedabad police and the cybercrime unit. Further investigation is underway into the number of affected buyers, the distribution of the duplicate passes and the operation of the Instagram and advertising accounts used to promote them.
