The Mumbai Police have arrested Shrikant Gadtiya (24), a peon working for prominent businessman and Maldives honorary consul Bobby Mohanty, for forging signatures and misusing cheques to siphon off Rs1.5 lakh. Gadtiya has also been accused of attempting a further Rs5 lakh fraud.
The arrest was made after Mohanty lodged a formal complaint on June 5 at the Andheri Police Station. Police said Gadtiya had worked as Mohanty’s personal assistant and peon for six years, living at his Juhu residence and handling sensitive banking and document-related tasks.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Gadtiya forged Mohanty’s signature on a cheque issued from Tech Engineering Company, successfully transferring Rs1.5 lakh to his own account on June 3. A day later, he attempted to encash another cheque worth Rs5 lakh from the Bobby Mohanty Foundation, prompting DCB Bank officials to alert Mohanty.
“When contacted, Mr. Mohanty denied issuing the cheque, and after reviewing the image sent by the bank, confirmed that the signature was forged,” said an investigating officer.
On confrontation, Gadtiya confessed to forging 55 cheques, which were later recovered from his possession. He claimed the fraud was committed to fund his niece’s medical treatment.
