‘30 ml professor’ gets bail in cheating case

Dhaval Purohit was granted bail on Wednesday

A city -based Chartered Accountant (CA), Dhaval Purohit, who shot to fame on the internet and became popular as ‘30 ml' professor, secured bail in an alleged cheating case worth over Rs 1 crore on Wednesday. He is supposed to be released on Friday. Purohit was arrested by Raipur police on December 10, 2021 and spent 110 days in jail before getting bail from the Chhattisgarh High Court on the grounds that his name was not mentioned in the FIR. The court further added that he was arrested based on the statement of another accused and that the case seemed like an act of business rivalry.

The case pertains to the accused cheating students and a coaching centre, JK Classes, by swindling the money paid by students for classes at the Raipur branch of the coaching chain, and not submitting the same to the centre. J K Shah, managing director of JK Classes, had alleged that Purohit was the mastermind behind the cheating and the other accused, Abhinandan Bafna, was the man on the field. Both Purohit and Bafna were arrested, following which they moved the Chhattisgarh HC for bail.

Opposing the bail pleas, advocate Harin Patel, for the complainant, said, "Bafna was appointed as an agent of the complainant at the behest of Purohit and for this, he had received Rs 5,00,000 from Bafna… This shows their connivance." He further claimed that Purohit was the mastermind as he was the business head of the Raipur branch and that he conspired with Bafna for siphoning the alleged funds. Purohit has also committed similar offence, for which, an FIR has been registered at Jawahar Circle police station in Rajasthan on January 27 this year."

However, advocate Fouzia Mirza, appearing for Purohit, said, "The FIR has not mentioned the amount received by Purohit. The complainant is a habitual litigant and used to file vexatious and frivolous litigations with malafide intention against the people who leave his company."

After hearing both the sides, judge N K Chandravanshi observed, "So far as Dhaval Purohit is concerned, he has not been named in the written complaint/FIR. It is not the allegation upon him that he has received any amount in his account from the students of Raipur branch. He has been named by Abhinandan Bafna in his memorandum statement. Although, the investigating officer has sought permission for filing of supplementary charge sheet in this case as many evidences are yet to be collected, but in the instant, this could not be a ground for rejection of bail application filed by him."

The judge further said, "Considering the aforesaid facts, and also considering the fact that there seems to be some business rivalry between the complainant and Dhaval Purohit and also considering the fact that Bafna is ready to deposit the alleged amount of Rs 16,39,600, which is lying with him, and the remaining amount to be paid to the complainant, and that the applicants are in custody since October 22, 2021 (Bafna) and December 10, 2021 (Purohit), respectively, and a charge sheet has already been filed in the case, this court is of the view that it is a fit case to release the applicants on bail."

The case

On October 20, 2021, JK Shah had lodged a complaint alleging that Bafna, an ex-student working as the local in-charge in Raipur Branch, and Purohit, the branch head at Raipur and other places, have siphoned off around Rs 1,00,93,252 which were deposited by students as fees by not depositing in class bank account. It was also alleged that Bafna, at the behest of Purohit, had submitted false bills to the tune of Rs 2.6 lakh as expenses for coaching classes. The alleged cheating was uncovered after a forensic audit was conducted.

Viral sensation

Purohit, 31, had shot to fame after a video went viral on social media where he was seen asking students how much one quarter is, to which a student answered ‘30 ml'. The video had gone viral due to Purohit's reaction to the comment and he was dubbed as "30 ml professor".

110
Days Dhaval Purohit spent in jail