Mumbai 'dabbawala' official nabbed in loan fraud

The Mumbai Police nabbed the selfstyled spokesperson of Mumbais dabbawalas for an alleged loan fraud in the name of 61 dabbawalas by promising to give them free scooters an official said here on TuesdayA police team picked up the accused Subhash Gangaram Talekar from his village in Pune district and brought him to Mumbai early on Tuesday He will be produced before a Magistrate Court shortly Ghatkopar Police Stations Senior Police Inspector Nitin Alaknure told IANSBesides Talekar 50 two other dabbawalas Vitthal Sawant Dashrath Kedari and two from private companies Rakesh Prasad of Sai Enterprises and Bhavesh Doshi of Twist 2 Wheelers are absconding and the police are on the lookout for themAlaknure said that the fraud amounting to almost Rs 700000 was being perpetrated since 2014 and a complaint was lodged against Talekar in February 2019Thereafter investigations were carried out in the matter but there were hurdles during Covid19 pandemic and lockdown He had also moved the Bombay High Court for anticipatory bail which was rejected after which we took the action Alaknure addedThe official body of dabbawalas Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charitable Trust NMTBSCT Chairman Ulhas Muke welcomed the development and said the accused has been ruining the good image of dabbawalas with such fraudulent practicesThe NMTCSCT had issues a public warning against several fakes in their midst committing frauds which was first highlighted by IANS October 10 2019Giving details NMTBSCT spokesperson Ritesh Andre said that in 2014 Talekar and his associates lured the 61 poor and illiterate dabbawalas with promises of free scooters for their tiffin delivery servicesFor availing this offer they were made to sign blank vehicle loan papers from Bhairavnath Patsansthan and the accused picked up the loan amount of nearly Rs 700000However later only 15 dabbawalas were given TVS Luna Mopeds 23 were handed over vehicles without any registration documents and the rest got nothing though loans were picked up in their names Andre told IANSThe fraud came to light in early 2019 when the dabbawalas suddenly got notices from the lenders seeking loan repayment against threat of confiscating their vehicles or propertyShocked by the development they lodged a police complaint which finally resulted in the arrest of Talekar now Andre saidMuke and Andre claimed that Talekar has earlier misused the good image of the dabbawala community to collect funds from various social groups and corporates through a fake organisation comprising his family membersDuring the Covid19 lockdown he reportedly sold aid kits given to dabbawalas in the open markets at huge profits and Rs 21 lakh collected by crowdfunding through a private radio channel in the name of dabbawalas was seizedTalekar exploited the global influence of the dabbawalas by claiming to be their president visiting top companies universities colleges and other programmes by various organisations to deliver sponsored lectures and collecting funds which never reached the ordinary dabbawalas the duo saidAndre said Talekar attempted to mislead the media by distributing his photos with prominent political leaders or celebrities issued unauthorised political statements on behalf of dabbawalas which often put them in embarrassing positions and adopted stands on various issues concerning the tiffin delivery fraternityThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever