Mumbai: Sixteen years after a heavy monsoon rainstorm disrupted payday at Mandhana Industries Ltd and led to a Rs 20 lakh cash heist, a magistrate’s court finally convicted the company’s former driver, sentencing him to three months in prison. However, the victim of the theft, 72-year-old businessman Purushottam Mandhana, former chairperson and managing director of M/s Mandhana Industries Limited (MIL) (since liquidated), is currently himself embroiled as an accused in a massive Rs 975 crore bank loan fraud and money laundering case.
Purshottam Mandhana told the court that a phone call came from his brother about 10 minutes later, informing that the driver had run away with the cash. The investigation was later carried out with the involvement of DCB CID Unit-4. Police arrested Yadav on July 21, 2008. The prosecution said part of the stolen money was traced to Punjab and another Rs 5.65 lakh was recovered from the house of Yadav near Saat Rasta.
The court, however, acquitted fruit vendor Santoshkumar Modi of receiving stolen property, due to lack of evidence.
The court held that the evidence showed Yadav had taken the money “without his consent dishonestly and intentionally”. The magistrate further noted that the prosecution established the recovery of the amount from the house of the accused. Purshottam Mandhana went downstairs, made inquiries with other drivers, and then approached Bhoiwada Police Station to lodge the complaint. He was later granted bail. The cash was recovered from a steel container in the kitchen.