In a shocking case, three persons, including the parents of a four-month-old and the director of a crowdfunding app, have been booked for allegedly collecting Rs 4.5 crore from January to June on the pretext of raising funds for their child admitted at Hinduja Hospital.
According to the Matunga police, the trio sought donation by uploading a video on Instagram on January 11 in the name of former actress Sana Khan. They made a mass appeal for funds, saying that the kid suffers from spinal muscular atrophy and that they urgently need Rs 17 crore for treatment.
The alleged fraud came to the fore when the child’s father reportedly approached Arif Sheikh, 52, a social worker from Mahim, for help. Sensing something amiss, the latter cross-checked with Hinduja Hospital and learned that no such child was admitted there for treatment. Upon digging deeper, it was revealed that the funds were not deposited into the hospital’s account, instead were transferred to the trio’s personal accounts. The money was not used for the child’s treatment but for personal gain, alleged Sheikh.
Subsequently, Sheikh approached the Kurla court, which directed the Matunga police to register a case. The trio has been booked under the Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and forgery-related offenses.
Further developments in the case are awaited, said a police official.
