Chocolate trade turns bitter for Mumbai seller as employee dupes him

A premium wholesaler in south Mumbai returned from the pilgrimage of Haj to discover that his collection boy had duped him of Rs. 12.52 lakh. Mumbai police nab accused from hometown of Kanpur

Accused Farid Qureshi

This had to be some bitter chocolate to bite into. Especially for a premium wholesaler in south Mumbai, Nadeem Khanda, who returned from the religious pilgrimage of Haj only to discover that his own collection boy had duped him of Rs. 12.52 lakh. Though the police was able to nab the accused Farid Qureshi (30) from his Kanpur home and bring him back to the city a week ago, they have been able to recover just around Rs. 18,900 yet.

No collections
Located close to the Mumbai police commissioner’s office, the wholesaler’s office, depending on how it’s placed, makes a weekly or monthly collection and deposit it into the bank. Qureshi’s job was to transport the money as directed by Khanda. From December 5 last year, Khanda was on a 10-day trip to Saudi Arabia, but he was in touch with his manager and accountant. While there, he asked his accountant to deposit Rs. 4.52 lakh in a bank at Ballard Pier.  The money was handed over to Qureshi, who assured he would return soon.

When he didn’t turn up, the accountant attempted to reach his cellphone, but found that it had been switched off. The following day, he visited Qureshi’s residence in Kurla where he learned that he had fled to his native place in Kanpur. On Khanda’s return, he was informed about this. It was then that Khanda recollected he had also asked Qureshi to collect Rs. 8 lakh from one of his business associates in Mulund and deposit it in his bank account, which never came through. Khanda’s accountant then lodged an FIR against Qureshi at the Azad Maidan police station.

Police says
A police officer said, "Based on the complaint, an FIR under Section 408 of the IPC was registered against Qureshi. While investigating the matter, we located him to Chaubeypur in Kanpur and arrested him. He was brought to the city on a transit remand on January 26 and has been in police custody till January 31. On Tuesday, he was produced before a court and his police custody extended. The matter is being investigated and efforts to recover the amount are on as of now."

Farid’s lawyer, advocate Sunil Pandey has contended that there is discrepancy in the missing sum of Rs. 12.5 lakh.

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