Mumbai: An accountant for a south Mumbai-based jeweller conspired with an associate by opening a fictitious identical company, diverted Rs 9.3 crore, acquired properties, and tried to kill his employer in a staged road accident, according to a chargesheet filed by the city crime branch in a fraud and murder conspiracy case.
The chargesheet, filed by crime branch’s unit 9 filed against Ketan Parikh, an accountant at Milana Kreations, and his associate, Niranjan Gupta, unveils a complex web of financial fraud and murder conspiracy targeting the jeweller, Kiranraj Shah.
In Dec last year, Gupta approached inspector Daya Nayak claiming he had information on a businessman who had procured an illegal weapon and stored it in his office at Chira Bazaar in south Mumbai to scare people off. Gupta named Parikh as his informant. Police raided Shah’s office and recovered a country-made 9mm pistol and cartridges.
But police grew suspicious after they found discrepancies during questioning. The investigation revealed that Parikh and Gupta had planted the weapon in Shah’s office to frame him. Police then arrested the duo.
Police have given a clean chit to businessman Jitendra Jain, whose name had cropped up during the initial investigation.
The probe revealed that Parikh, entrusted with managing multiple accounts for Shah’s family-run businesses, including MK Diamonds and Raero International, systematically diverted around Rs 9.3 crore to accounts he controlled, including one deceptively named Milana Kreation, mirroring his employer’s company. The embezzled funds were used to acquire assets, including a Rs 56 lakh flat in Mira Road, registered in Parikh and his wife Deepika’s names.
To conceal his fraud, Parikh, with Gupta’s aid, allegedly orchestrated a plan to kill Shah. In Nov 2024, Shah narrowly escaped in a staged bike accident, suffering minor injuries. The biker gave a statement that he was paid to run over Shah.
Subsequent investigations linked the staged accident to Parikh and Gupta, revealing their intent to kill Shah and also frame him by planting the pistol in his office. Digital evidence, including WhatsApp chats and audio messages between Parikh and Gupta, corroborated the conspiracy.
