Journalism of Courage
Advertisement

Surat cricket association president arrested in cheating case

Kanaiyalal Contractor (82) allegedly created a fake general power of attorney in the names of his brother and his brother’s wife, allegedly mortgaged their property to a finance firm, and then allegedly failed to repay the loan

surat, surat cricket association, Kanaiyalal Contractor,After the complaint was registered, Kanaiyalal Contractor sought anticipatory bail from the Surat district court, which was rejected. (File photo)

Surat District Cricket Association president Kanaiyalal Contractor (82) was arrested Thursday by officials of the Surat Economic Offence Wing in a cheating case, after both the High Court and the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail applications.

The accused allegedly created a fake general power of attorney in the names of his brother and his brother’s wife, allegedly mortgaged their property to a finance firm, and then allegedly failed to repay the loan. The family owns the Lalbhai Contractor Cricket Stadium in Surat, which houses the office of the Surat District Cricket Association.

The complaint, filed with the Surat Crime Branch on October 24, 2024, by Nayna (64), widow of late Hemant Contractor, accused her husband’s elder brother Kanaiyalal Contractor — a resident of Athwalines in Surat — and others. Kanaiyalal Contractor jointly ran a construction firm with Hemant and Naynaben under the name Kanaiyalal Construction.

In her complaint, she alleged that between 2009 and 2021, the accused forged a fake General Power of Attorney by forging the signatures of late Hemant Contractor, their mother Dayiben Contractor, and Naynaben Contractor. Using this, he allegedly took a mortgage loan of Rs 2.92 crore from a private finance firm and used the money for personal purposes without informing the other partners. He also allegedly failed to pay loan instalments amounting to Rs 65 lakh. The finance firm subsequently issued notices of pending dues to all partners of the Kanaiyalal Construction partnership.

On October 24, 2024, Surat Crime Branch booked Kanaiyalal Contractor under IPC Sections 420 (cheating), 465 (punishment for forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security or will), 468 (forgery for cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record).

After the complaint was registered, Kanaiyalal Contractor sought anticipatory bail from the Surat district court, which was rejected. His anticipatory bail applications were subsequently dismissed by the Gujarat High Court and later by the Supreme Court.

Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police (Economic Offence Wing) Karanraj Vaghela said, “We have arrested Kanaiyalal Contractor in a cheating case. The accused did not inform his firm’s partners and prepared a fake power of attorney, forging their signatures, to obtain a loan. We have launched a probe and are trying to identify others involved in the scam. We will also try to discover where the accused had spent the loan amount.”

From the homepage

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
  • Surat
Edition
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us
Express OpinionMore than two decades later, at end of the red corridor, there is light
X