Cop mortgages house for daughter-in-law's London 'job'. She flees with Rs 15 lakh
An Ahmedabad policeman mortgaged his house and withdrew his life savings to fund his daughter-in-law’s dream of moving abroad. But under the pretext of securing a job in London, the woman took Rs 15.59 lakh from him in installments before fleeing with her friend.
Payal had married Dhruvit, a private company employee, in 2023. About a year into the marriage, she told her in-laws that she had a job opportunity in London and that she would eventually move there with Dhruvit on a work permit.
She said the entire process would cost around Rs 25 lakh.
Believing that the move would secure a better future for their son and daughter-in-law, Dhruvit's father mortgaged his house and took a bank loan of Rs 16.80 lakh. He also withdrew Rs 7 lakh from his GPF account.
The entire amount was then deposited in a joint account held by Dhruvit's parents.
Initally, the family gave Payal Rs 1.50 lakh in cash to begin the visa process.
When the visa was not granted, she persuaded her in-laws to put the money into a fixed deposit through her bank employee friend, Samman Singh Bhadauria, claiming it would earn better interest than leaving it in an account.
Payal retained Rs 18 lakh through this arrangement.
Later, Payal got her husband to transfer an additional Rs 2.50 lakh from her account to Samman Singh's
When the money was not returned for a long time, Samman allegedly began giving evasive replies. When the family demanded that the money and account details be returned, Payal became angry and went to her parents' home.
She later gave cheques to her father-in-law as security, but instructed him to deposit them only when she told him to.
Around this time, Payal's brother met Dhruvit and warned him that her behaviour and intentions were not right. He advised him to find out where the money had been given and recover it immediately.
When Dhruvit's family took a firm stand, Payal promised that she would recover the entire amount from Samman within a month.
On September 12, Dhruvit and Payal were scheduled to attend an event. However, Payal left home saying she was going to the office.
When she did not return by evening, Dhruvit contacted her workplace and was told that she had left in the afternoon. The family became suspicious after the mobile phones of both Payal and Samman were switched off.
The police have launched a probe based on Dhruvit's complaint. A search is underway to locate the two.- Ends
Brijesh Doshi, who lives in Ahmedabad, is a Senior Special Correspondent in the India Today Group and is currently working as the Gujarat bureau chief of AajTak-India Today TV. He reports on political matters from Gujarat. A journalist with more than 14 years of experience, Brijesh has done reported extensively from the ground during several natural disasters scuh as cyclones and floods in Gujarat in the last decade. He has also done detailed coverage on all the political developments in the state. He previously worked in Gujarat's vernacular media for more than 12 years.
