Mumbai: Court books man's wife, in-laws who cheated him out of Rs 84 lakh

Shrijeet Maiti, the complainant

This Goregaon resident allegedly cheated by his wife and in-laws can breathe a little easy. Borivli magistrate court has passed an order, directing that the woman and her parents be booked and arrested for siphoning off Rs 84 lakh from complainant Shrijeet Maiti's account. Maiti, a joint director of an international audit company, recently found out that his entire savings had been transferred to his minor daughter's account and then to a joint account of his wife and mother-in-law.

Shrijeet and Sudeshna married in November 2004. According to him, barely a year later, when the couple was living in Bengaluru, she started picking fights with him "at the drop of a hat", thus causing domestic strife. Meanwhile, Shrijeet was sent to the USA for a temporary assignment.

Troubling times
Amid domestic trouble, in February 2015, the couple shifted to Mumbai. Thinking that a new place would help them to make a new beginning, the complainant said, things instead took a turn for the worse as his in-laws started interfering in their marriage.

On December 18, 2016, during a fight, Sudeshna called up the Mumbai Police helpline and complained of assault and threats. The police counselled both of them for over an hour and advised them to put the episode behind them. An NC complaint was filed against Shrijeet. However, later that month, Sudeshna went to Noida to stay with her parents, seeking separation from Shrijeet. She stopped all communication with him and his parents.

Things came to a head when on December 25, 2016, he received an SMS stating that the password for the joint account he held with his wife had been changed, and on January 12, 2017, R84 lakh was transferred to their daughter's account. From there, it was allegedly deposited in the joint account Sudeshna held with her mother, leaving the complainant penniless.

Taking action
In June 2017, Shrijeet filed a petition in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Borivli. The court recently ordered a case against Sudeshna and her parents Tapan Kumar Saha and Arundhati Saha under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention). "Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the wife and in-laws for siphoning off the money. The court has ordered arrest of all the accused by the Goregaon police," said Ishika Tolani, advocate of the complainant. Repeated calls and messages sent to Sudeshna went unanswered.

In May 2014, a man was booked for allegedly conning his doctor wife of Rs 1.50 lakh. Jayesh Nadkarni, a resident of suburban Andheri in Mumbai, was booked on the basis of a complaint filed by his wife Archana Balwanat Akhade (37).

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