Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde’s mother has been duped to the tune of Rs 2.5 crores by the caretaker of the family’s property.
Police arrested the caretaker, Tapas Ghosh (49) on Tuesday night from Nagpur in Maharashtra.
The following day he was produced before a court, which remanded him to police custody till December 16.
According to police sources, Mukta Bobde, the aged mother of the CJI owns the Seadon Lawn in Akashwani Square in Nagpur.
The family in 2017 had appointed Ghosh as the caretaker of the property that is rented out for marriages and other functions.
The incident came to light when customers, who had cancelled their bookings during the Covid-19 lockdown, demanded refund of their booking amounts which Ghosh was unable to pay back.
Also read: CJI Ranjan Gogoi recommends Justice Bobde as his successor
“Taking advantage of Mukta Bobde’s advanced age and frail health, Ghosh and his wife allegedly kept her in the dark about transactions and did not deposit the entire rent which they had collected,” a report quoted Nagpur commissioner of police, Amitesh Kumar.
“After examining all bookings for the property since 2017, we found that Ghose duped the Bobde family of Rs 2.5 crores,” he said.
A special investigation team (SIT) registered a case against Ghosh and his wife at the Sitabuldi Police Station in Nagpur under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 467 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code.
His wife had reportedly assisted him in his misdeeds.
The accused managed to win the trust of his owner over the years and easily duped the old lady.
The police also recovered forged receipts from the couple.