Mumbai: Woman, son-in-law held for embezzling from deceased doctor

Arif Shaikh

A 48-year-old woman compounder, in collaboration with her son-in-law, allegedly embezzled funds from the clinic and bank account of a deceased doctor. After a complaint was filed by the doctor's son at the Bangur Nagar police station, the woman, Taslim Sultan Shaikh, assumed the identity of the deceased's wife to seek anticipatory bail from the sessions court. She submitted her daughter and son-in-law's marriage certificate to the court, claiming it as her own. However, both the sessions and later the high court rejected her pleas. Finally, on Tuesday, the Bangur Nagar police arrested both her and her son-in-law, Arif Shaikh, 32.

According to police sources, Taslim and her daughter Namira had been working as compounders at the clinic of Dr Mohammed Asif Khan, Prince KGN Khan Clinic, on Bhagat Singh Nagar Road in Goregaon West.

Khan passed away while on the Hajj on June 24 in Saudi Arabia, according to a statement made by his 27-year-old son, Mohammed Basit, a second-year MBBS student, to the police. Prior to departing for the pilgrimage, Dr Khan fell ill. He had stopped going to the clinic since June 1. Namira and another compounder, Prem Galfade, were visiting the clinic and providing medicines prescribed to patients who had previously been examined by Dr Khan.

Basit, who is studying medicine in Agra, received the news of his father's trip and returned to Mumbai on June 7. His father informed him that he had kept R6 lakh in cash from the clinic, an additional R1 lakh, which was donations collected for the mosque, along with cheques and FD documents in the clinic drawer. He urged Basit to accompany him to the clinic to retrieve the cash and documents. However, considering his father's deteriorating health, Basit declined, citing his own concerns.

Dr Khan left India for Hajj on June 23. The following day, Basit received a call from a Maulana named Nizamuddin, who had accompanied his father, informing him that the doctor had passed away due to a heart attack. On June 25, Namira contacted Basit's uncle and requested the keys to the clinic. The latter then informed the youth about this. Basit, accompanied by his cousin, visited the clinic and discovered that all the cash and documents as well as medical prescription papers and the deceased's Ertiga were missing.

Upon inquiring with a tenant residing on the clinic's first floor, Basit learned that Namira and her brother had taken away bags full of items. He then approached the Bangur Nagar police, who registered an FIR under Sections 381 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and initiated an investigation. Subsequently, Basit had to travel to Agra for an exam and returned to Mumbai on July 28. Upon visiting the bank to inquire about his father's accounts, he was shocked to discover that someone had withdrawn R2 lakh on June 30 and Rs 2.5 lakh on July 8 from them. Basit promptly reported this to the police.

After an inquiry by the police, the bank informed them, upon reviewing CCTV footage, that Namira and her brother-in-law, Arif, had made these withdrawals at the behest of Taslim. IPC Sections 406 and 420 were then added to the FIR. "We issued 41 summons to Taslim and Namira. In an attempt to secure anticipatory bail, she posed as the deceased doctor's wife and approached the Dindoshi session court," the officer continued.

The marriage certificate she presented in court was in Urdu. An investigation revealed that it actually belonged to the daughter who was married to Arif. When this information was conveyed to the court, both the session court and later the high court rejected her bail application, leading to her becoming a fugitive.

Under the guidance of DCP Ajay Kumar Bansal and with the support of Senior Inspector Pramod Tavde and API Vivek Tambe, the investigation proceeded. Taslima was eventually apprehended and subsequently, Arif was also detained. Both were presented before the court on Wednesday, and they have been remanded in police custody for two days, according to a police officer.

During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Taslim had been previously married and had two daughters and a son from her husband, who had abandoned her. She and her daughter. Dr Khan, known for his generosity, used to sponsor Hajj pilgrimages every year. This time, when he decided to go himself, he took Taslim with him. At the time of his demise, she was also on the pilgrimage.

She had instructed her daughter to take all the cash and cheques and, upon returning to India, had made withdrawals from the bank using the doctor's signed cheques. Additionally, she had given the doctor's Ertiga to her son-in-law. The vehicle has been recovered.