Complaint lodged after bank visit exposed forged signatures and outdated letterheads; the arrested trustees have been identified as Jayesh Navinchandra Majithia, 60, and Kirti Vanmalidas Zaveri, 70
The fraud came to light on April 23, when a bank representative visited the trust’s office. REPRESENTATION PIC/ISTOCK
The Kandivli police have arrested two trustees of an educational trust for allegedly securing a loan of Rs 2.5 crore from a bank using forged documents, including a fake no-objection certificate (NOC). The arrested trustees have been identified as Jayesh Navinchandra Majithia, 60, and Kirti Vanmalidas Zaveri, 70. According to officials, the duo fabricated a NOC on the letterhead of Anjuman-e-Najmi Dawoodi Bohra Trust, a Kandivli West–based trust established in 1993. The forged document was submitted to the bank as part of the loan application.
Mustafa Yusuf Ali Gom, 55, secretary of the Trust, said, “The Anjuman-e-Najmi Dawoodi Bohra Trust was established in 1993, and I have been serving as its secretary since 2012. Nearly 30 years ago, our trust leased a plot on Mathuradas Extension Road, Bora Colony, for 97 years to Esplanade Education Society, which later built and operates the Esplanade High School.”
The fraud came to light on April 23, when a representative from the bank visited the trust’s office to verify the NOC. Members noticed that the letterhead used was outdated and the signatures of both the chairman and secretary were forged. On further inspection, they also found a fabricated agreement letter dated October 19, 2023, falsely showing the trust’s consent to mortgage the school land.
“Following this discovery, we lodged a written complaint against Jayesh Majithia and Kirti Zaveri at Kandivli police station,” Mustafa added. Investigations revealed that the accused, posing as trustees of the Esplanade Education Society, used the forged documents to obtain a loan sanction of Rs 4.5 crore, out of which Rs 2.5 crore was disbursed.
An officer from Kandivli police said, “Based on the complaint, we registered an FIR in June under charges of forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. The investigation was led by API Sohan Kadam under the supervision of DCP Zone XI Sandeep Jadhav and Senior Inspector Karan Sonkawade.” He further added, “The accused later approached the Dindoshi sessions court for anticipatory bail, but their plea was rejected. On September 1, we traced and arrested them. They were produced before the Borivli Metropolitan Magistrate Court, which remanded them in police custody for five days.”
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