YEH MERA INDIA
Corporate honcho cheated own firm to pay personal dues!
MUMBAI : IN a grim reminder that corporate crime is on the rise, the vice-president of Patel On-board Couriers (POBC) Ltd cheated his company, with which he had been working for the last nine years, to the tune of Rs 30 lakh by taking cash on behalf of the company from clients in a span of around two years reportedly to pay off his personal dues.
S Balakrishna (54), a resident of Challenger Towers in Kandivli (E), joined POBC, whose head office is located in Santacruz (W), around nine years ago as a branch manager and worked his way to the post of the Vice President of the company around four years ago.
On June 13, Farrokh Wadia, the director of POBC registered a cheating case against Balakrishnan after discovering that the latter had siphoned off the company’s money into his personal bank account. "The matter came to light when I called up a client who had to pay the company dues worth Rs 7 lakh, he told me that he had already given the amount to Balakrishna in cash. Slowly a lot of people started pouring in saying that they had given their dues to the vice president in cash. He has used the company letter heads and stamp papers, signed by him which he is not authorized to do, to the clients and other people," said Wadia.
Balakrishnan’s modus operandi was to fix up meetings with company’s clients for discussions pertaining to their impending dues which he would ask mostly in cash. In some cases he asked the party to deposit the amount into his personal account. As he was the Vice President of the said company, the clients would not doubt his intentions and would give him the amount. Apparently Balakrishnan had taken money from others also, using the company’s name and his position, reportedly to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore.
"We accept payments in cheques only. How did these people pay their dues in cash without suspecting any foul plays as we have never asked any client to pay in cash?, added Wadia. Balakrishnan was reportedly running a small time travel agency and had taken Rs 1.25 lakh from a POBC employee which he said would be used for buying a car that would be used for renting out to people and shall earn him a regular profit.
After finding out that a case had been registered against him, Balakrishnan reportedly went into hiding. Wadia received a call informing that Balakrishnan was coming to Bandra, from where he nabbed him and took him to the Santacruz police station. Balakrishnan, who has confessed to his crime, was produced in the court and has been remanded to police custody.
"When I asked Balakrishnan as to why he cheated the company he told me that he needed money to pay his personal dues," said Wadia.
Arif Patel, the CEO of POBC said, "The company is in no way responsible for the amount that people or for that matter our clients have given to Balakrishnan. We are in no way connected with the transactions that he has made with people outside without the company’s knowledge".
MUMBAI : IN a grim reminder that corporate crime is on the rise, the vice-president of Patel On-board Couriers (POBC) Ltd cheated his company, with which he had been working for the last nine years, to the tune of Rs 30 lakh by taking cash on behalf of the company from clients in a span of around two years reportedly to pay off his personal dues.
S Balakrishna (54), a resident of Challenger Towers in Kandivli (E), joined POBC, whose head office is located in Santacruz (W), around nine years ago as a branch manager and worked his way to the post of the Vice President of the company around four years ago.
On June 13, Farrokh Wadia, the director of POBC registered a cheating case against Balakrishnan after discovering that the latter had siphoned off the company’s money into his personal bank account. "The matter came to light when I called up a client who had to pay the company dues worth Rs 7 lakh, he told me that he had already given the amount to Balakrishna in cash. Slowly a lot of people started pouring in saying that they had given their dues to the vice president in cash. He has used the company letter heads and stamp papers, signed by him which he is not authorized to do, to the clients and other people," said Wadia.
Balakrishnan’s modus operandi was to fix up meetings with company’s clients for discussions pertaining to their impending dues which he would ask mostly in cash. In some cases he asked the party to deposit the amount into his personal account. As he was the Vice President of the said company, the clients would not doubt his intentions and would give him the amount. Apparently Balakrishnan had taken money from others also, using the company’s name and his position, reportedly to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore.
"We accept payments in cheques only. How did these people pay their dues in cash without suspecting any foul plays as we have never asked any client to pay in cash?, added Wadia. Balakrishnan was reportedly running a small time travel agency and had taken Rs 1.25 lakh from a POBC employee which he said would be used for buying a car that would be used for renting out to people and shall earn him a regular profit.
After finding out that a case had been registered against him, Balakrishnan reportedly went into hiding. Wadia received a call informing that Balakrishnan was coming to Bandra, from where he nabbed him and took him to the Santacruz police station. Balakrishnan, who has confessed to his crime, was produced in the court and has been remanded to police custody.
"When I asked Balakrishnan as to why he cheated the company he told me that he needed money to pay his personal dues," said Wadia.
Arif Patel, the CEO of POBC said, "The company is in no way responsible for the amount that people or for that matter our clients have given to Balakrishnan. We are in no way connected with the transactions that he has made with people outside without the company’s knowledge".
Fed up with police inaction, traders arrange their own security
THANE : LAW and order situation in Thane seems to be going from bad to worse with daylight robberies and dacoities being committed. Despite repeated requests and delegation to the police stations, there is no drop in crime rate and consequently the traders have decided to arrange for their own security, Being the busiest area in the city, Naupada’s bustle is connected to its close proximity to Thane station and several markets in its periphery. Keeping this in mind, burglars have targeted the area and several cases were registered at the police station.
The shopkeepers met and organised a meeting at Kanti Visariya Hall with the Naupada police to discuss the situation. The cops mentioned that they are short-staffed and have been carrying out a recruitment drive for the last three –four years. Because of the lack of staff, the cops said that they couldn’t handle all the cases.
Mahesh Nisar of the Thane Vyapari Ekta Manch informed that the shopkeepers discussed the security issue with the police and requested better protection. "We have got our own security for the time being. They have also given us a number of suggestions," he informed.
The police suggested that the shopkeepers place CCTV cameras in the shops to record movements across the shops. They have also been asked to recruit a security guard for every five shops in line in the area. "The cops maintain that they are short staffed. Now we’re planning to employ security guards for security," he said.
COP CHEATS COPS
Retired DCP nabbed for duping police officials
MUMBAI : A retired Deputy Commissioner of police was arrested for allegedly cheating police officials, who applied in a housing scheme floated by him in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.
The 66-year-old former DCP, Sitaram Kapse, allegedly came up with the scheme in 1996 for police officials on two plots owned by CIDCO located in the Kharghar area of Navi Mumbai, a senior police official from the Kharghar police station told PTI.
"Kapse had collected money from approximately 150 police officials at the time and managed to gather about Rs 1.27 crore, which he claimed would be used for the construction of the buildings," he said.
However, the allocation of the plot was cancelled in 2003, the official said. But, Kapse applied again for a housing scheme on the plot and this time submitted forms with photographs and signatures of police personnel without their consent, the official said.
"We are also investigating if after obtaining the plots Kapse sold it to another group for construction," he said.
The former DCP is also accused of being involved in a similar scheme in Ghatkopar in Mumbai and his role is being probed, officials said.
Kapse was arrested from his residence in Bandra in Mumbai and produced before a court in Navi Mumbai, which remanded him to police custody till June 23, he said.
Kapse did not return the money of the police personnel, who had applied in the scheme earlier and they had also complained about him, Kharghar police officials claimed.
"We have been probing the matter for some time now and after registering the case, we arrested Kapse", they said. The police has booked Kapse under various sections of IPC related to forgery and cheating.
The 66-year-old former DCP, Sitaram Kapse, allegedly came up with the scheme in 1996 for police officials on two plots owned by CIDCO located in the Kharghar area of Navi Mumbai, a senior police official from the Kharghar police station told PTI.
"Kapse had collected money from approximately 150 police officials at the time and managed to gather about Rs 1.27 crore, which he claimed would be used for the construction of the buildings," he said.
However, the allocation of the plot was cancelled in 2003, the official said. But, Kapse applied again for a housing scheme on the plot and this time submitted forms with photographs and signatures of police personnel without their consent, the official said.
"We are also investigating if after obtaining the plots Kapse sold it to another group for construction," he said.
The former DCP is also accused of being involved in a similar scheme in Ghatkopar in Mumbai and his role is being probed, officials said.
Kapse was arrested from his residence in Bandra in Mumbai and produced before a court in Navi Mumbai, which remanded him to police custody till June 23, he said.
Kapse did not return the money of the police personnel, who had applied in the scheme earlier and they had also complained about him, Kharghar police officials claimed.
"We have been probing the matter for some time now and after registering the case, we arrested Kapse", they said. The police has booked Kapse under various sections of IPC related to forgery and cheating.
Now, special packages for funeral rites too
LUCKNOW : TRAVEL operators offer them and so do shopping malls. And now, special packages tailored to suit various budgets are on offer in cremation grounds in Uttar Pradesh for those performing funeral rites.
Ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000, cremation grounds in various cities of the state, including capital Lucknow as well as Allahabad, Varanasi and Kanpur, are offering customised packages that include various services.
Depending on the money, services like performing special prayers, collecting havan samagri (offerings), taking the body to the cremation ground and performing religious practices for attainment of ‘moksha’ (emancipation) are included in the package.
"We begin the preparations as soon as we get the order. For example, we have varieties of wood-from low cost to sandal wood-along with a variety of low and high cost flowers," said Shubhash Mishra of the Bhainsa Kund cremation ground of Lucknow.
Those offering vehicles to bring the body to the cremation ground also provide various options.
"Although some people prefer bringing the body to the ground on their own, a majority prefer taking our services. We have big and minibuses, jeeps and even three-wheelers; depending on the capacity of the buyer they can opt for a vehicle," said Rajesh Kumar, the vehicle contractor outside the cremation ground.
Important ghats of Varanasi and Allahabad have more diversified services to offer.
"If someone wants to buy the havan and pooja samagri on his own, we also provide assistants to enable them to get the best material at good rates from the markets adjoining the ghats. Although there is a separate fee for it, it does not add much to the special package," said Santosh Sharma of Varanasi’s Manikarnika Ghat.
Varanasi, considered the most sacred place in India for performing last rites, also has packages ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs 1 million.
"People come here from across the county and besides performing the last rites, they also make huge donations. These include donating cows, offering clothes to poor, feeding hundreds of Brahmins, etc. We also offer these, but the donation offered to the poor or Brahmins is not a part of the package," Sharma added.
The packages have also helped develop a large number of markets in and around the ghats.
"Although these markets have existed here since the ghats developed, our packages have helped the shopkeepers to channel their business. Earlier, they were facing stiff competition amongst themselves, but slowly they have been able to optimize and fix a uniform rate," said Chandan Maharaj of Allahabad’s Daraganj Ghat.
Ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000, cremation grounds in various cities of the state, including capital Lucknow as well as Allahabad, Varanasi and Kanpur, are offering customised packages that include various services.
Depending on the money, services like performing special prayers, collecting havan samagri (offerings), taking the body to the cremation ground and performing religious practices for attainment of ‘moksha’ (emancipation) are included in the package.
"We begin the preparations as soon as we get the order. For example, we have varieties of wood-from low cost to sandal wood-along with a variety of low and high cost flowers," said Shubhash Mishra of the Bhainsa Kund cremation ground of Lucknow.
Those offering vehicles to bring the body to the cremation ground also provide various options.
"Although some people prefer bringing the body to the ground on their own, a majority prefer taking our services. We have big and minibuses, jeeps and even three-wheelers; depending on the capacity of the buyer they can opt for a vehicle," said Rajesh Kumar, the vehicle contractor outside the cremation ground.
Important ghats of Varanasi and Allahabad have more diversified services to offer.
"If someone wants to buy the havan and pooja samagri on his own, we also provide assistants to enable them to get the best material at good rates from the markets adjoining the ghats. Although there is a separate fee for it, it does not add much to the special package," said Santosh Sharma of Varanasi’s Manikarnika Ghat.
Varanasi, considered the most sacred place in India for performing last rites, also has packages ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs 1 million.
"People come here from across the county and besides performing the last rites, they also make huge donations. These include donating cows, offering clothes to poor, feeding hundreds of Brahmins, etc. We also offer these, but the donation offered to the poor or Brahmins is not a part of the package," Sharma added.
The packages have also helped develop a large number of markets in and around the ghats.
"Although these markets have existed here since the ghats developed, our packages have helped the shopkeepers to channel their business. Earlier, they were facing stiff competition amongst themselves, but slowly they have been able to optimize and fix a uniform rate," said Chandan Maharaj of Allahabad’s Daraganj Ghat.
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