In a shocking case of fraud, an elderly retired teacher was cheated of ₹10.59 lakh by his own daughter-in-law and two of her accomplices in Kandivali. The Samta Nagar police have registered a case of fraud against the accused trio and initiated an investigation. The accused have been identified as Arshad Pathan, Tinku Gupta, and Pushpa Bind, according to police officials.
The incident occurred in Kandivali area, where the victim, Bharat Bhushan Kewat (69), resides with his family. A former teacher at a Mumbai Municipal Corporation school, Bharat Bhushan retired in 2013. He had invested ₹5.09 lakh in a fixed deposit (FD) after his retirement and noted down the ATM and mobile app passwords for the FD in his personal diary.
His daughter-in-law Pushpa’s sister Sushma and her friend Arshad Pathan were frequent visitors to the house, and Bharat Bhushan trusted them. On March 1, 2024, while he was out on an errand, Pushpa and Arshad approached him near the Thakur Complex area and requested his mobile phone and diary, citing some urgency. Trusting them, he handed over the items.
Later that day, Bharat Bhushan discovered that his ATM card was missing. Upon visiting the bank to check on his account, he was shocked to learn that the money from his fixed deposit had been withdrawn. Further inquiries revealed that a total of ₹10.59 lakh had been fraudulently siphoned off from his account.
Realizing he had been duped, Bharat Bhushan immediately lodged a complaint with the Cyber Police and Samta Nagar Police Station. Investigations revealed that the stolen amount was first transferred to the bank accounts of Tinku Gupta and Arshad Pathan, and later, Arshad transferred the money to Pushpa Bind’s account.
Based on the evidence, the police registered a case of fraud against the three accused. “The investigation is ongoing, and the trio will soon be questioned. Following the interrogation, necessary legal action, including arrests, will be taken,” a police official confirmed.
This incident serves as a grim reminder of the need for caution, even when dealing with close family members, to safeguard one’s financial assets.