Mumbai:
A young man got engaged to his fiancé last evening at a lavish ceremony in a plush suburban hotel, as his father played the perfect host. The only jarring note in this otherwise familiar picture of ceremonial opulence was struck by the presence of cops at the function, who joined the usual crowd of aunts and uncles as they watched over the proceedings. Both father and son are conmen under arrest, who have allegedly cheated a Singapore-based private company to the tune of Rs 7.5 crore.
Minor glitch?Rajesh Thandiram Jain and 25-year-old Mohit Jain had been arrested by the Malad police yesterday from their residence at Sterling Tower in Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (West). The arrests were made on the basis of an FIR filed with the Malad police against Rajesh, his wife Seema and son Mohit under Sections 409, 420, 468, 471 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
The father-son duo, however, didn't want the long arm of the law to come in the way of yesterday's engagement and the planned nuptials that will ensue on January 23 at a five-star hotel.
On Friday, Jain had filed for anticipatory bail at the sessions court, citing his son's impending nuptials. The application was rejected. Not convinced, Jain moved the Bombay High Court yesterday, seeking anticipatory bail. The Court, however, had a better idea.
According to sources, the court asked the Jains about the scale of arrangements that had been made for the wedding, to which they replied that they had printed almost 2,000 cards, each worth Rs 450, and also booked several five-star hotels for guests.
Reprimanding them for making such lavish arrangements on one hand and swindling a company on the other, the court denied bail, and instead asked the cops to accompany the two to the engagement ceremony, so everyone would know that they were under arrest.
"The Honorable High Court rejected Jain's plea, but ordered the police to take him to his son's engagement and marriage ceremonies," said Ashok Saraogi, lawyer of the complainant Dharmendra Vishwanath Poddar. Poddar, a resident of Malad, is an authorised representative in India of the Singapore-based Greenworth International Pvt Ltd. He had complained against the Jains on January 3 to the additional commissioner of police, on the basis of which the FIR was lodged.
The conRajesh and Mohit are owners of Thandiram Textiles. They had imported textile yarn worth Rs 7.5 crore from Greenworth International through Poddar. But when the consignment reached India, the Jains produced fake bank documents and got their hands on it without having paid a penny for the same.
"We are following the order of the Honourable court and arranging to accompany the accused to the engagement and wedding ceremonies," said Chandrakant Gurav, an inspector attached to the Malad police station.