Surat Man Arrested for Running Gas Cylinder Scam on Eateries During Iran War Shortage

A 35-year-old Surat man scoured restaurant social media pages to find desperate eatery owners, offered them cooking gas cylinders he had no intention of delivering, and pocketed their advance payments. Keval Tejani was arrested by Sarthana police after three victims transferred a combined Rs 33,400 — all of it gone the moment the QR code scans went through.

The Details

Tejani's racket was built on a single insight: a shortage creates urgency, and urgency kills skepticism. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar, Tejani watched reels posted by restaurants and food stalls to identify active businesses. He collected phone numbers from shop hoardings or pulled them directly from the reels themselves, then called the owners offering prompt gas delivery at Rs 2,650 per cylinder.

The pitch was simple and, during a supply crisis, plausible. Tejani requested advance payment via QR code. No cylinders arrived. The Times of India reported that Vijay Sorathiya, a bhajiya vendor operating at Ring Road Chowk, transferred Rs 13,250 for five cylinders. Pravin Padshala transferred Rs 6,900. Piyush Bhikhadiya transferred Rs 13,250. All three were cheated.

Sarthana police traced the fraud back to Tejani and made the arrest. The Times of India reported that Tejani already carries seven FIRs at three other Surat police stations — Varachha, Kapodra, and Utran — confirming a pattern of serial fraud rather than a one-off opportunistic crime.

DCP Alok Kumar described the method in detail: "Tejani's modus operandi was to watch reels of popular restaurants and other eateries on social media. He would get the phone numbers from hoardings of eateries or from the reels themselves. He would then contact the eateries and offer gas cylinders."

The scam ran at a moment of peak commercial pressure. The Iran war triggered a disruption to cooking gas supply chains, with Reuters reporting that commercial LPG prices in India rose 10.4 percent in early April 2026. BBC reported that migrant workers were leaving Indian cities in part because of the supply disruption. Small food businesses — the kind running reels on Instagram to drive lunch crowds — were among those caught hardest.

Context

The Iran war's knock-on effects on Indian energy markets have been acute. Reuters documented the 10.4 percent rise in commercial LPG prices in April 2026 as Indian Oil adjusted fuel pricing to account for supply disruptions tied to the conflict. For street vendors and small eateries operating on thin margins, even a short gas outage can force a business to close temporarily.

BBC coverage of the same period noted that migrant workers were departing Indian cities due in part to the supply squeeze — a signal of how broad the disruption reached into daily economic life. Tejani timed his calls for exactly this environment: owners who could not get cylinders through normal channels were more likely to take a call from an unknown number offering a quick fix.

With seven existing FIRs spread across three Surat police stations, Tejani's arrest by Sarthana police adds a fourth jurisdiction to his criminal record, according to the Times of India.

What's Next

Sarthana police have made the arrest. The Times of India reported the case without detailing formal charges or a scheduled court date. DCP Alok Kumar's public confirmation of the arrest and modus operandi suggests the investigation is active.

The three named victims — Vijay Sorathiya, Pravin Padshala, and Piyush Bhikhadiya — have been identified in the complaint. Whether Surat police will consolidate Tejani's seven prior FIRs into a single prosecution has not been reported.