Mumbai: The Bandra police registered an FIR against three former trustees of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT) for alleged cheating and forgery. The accused have been identified as Chetan Mehta, Rashmi Mehta, and Bhavin Mehta.
According to the FIR, the accused fabricated documents to become trustees of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust and misused Rs.85 crore of the trust's funds.
The case was filed based on a complaint by another trustee, Mohit Mathur, 25. The FIR was lodged following an order from the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Bandra, on December 30.
The FIR states that the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust was established in 1978, with Kishor Mehta, Charu Mehta, and Rekha Seth as lifetime trustees.
Since 2006, there has been an ongoing dispute regarding control of the trust, which escalated to the Supreme Court. The Court subsequently directed the Charity Commission to reinstate Kishor Mehta and Charu Mehta as lifetime trustees.
The complainant, Mathur, resides in Jaipur, Rajasthan. He was appointed as a trustee in December 2023. Upon his appointment, he and other trustees reviewed the trust's audits and discovered significant misappropriation of funds by the former trustees.
The trustees allegedly used Rs.Rs.44.29 crore for advocate fees and consultancy charges without proper documentation or receipts. Additionally, funds were misused to pretend to purchase medical equipment and for personal purposes.
The FIR further alleges that between 2002 and 2023, the accused unlawfully utilised Rs.85 crore for advocate fees for personal cases, under the pretext of purchasing medical equipment, and for other personal expenses.
Another trustee, Prashant Mehta, stated, "I am a permanent trustee of the organisation. The group led by Chetan Mehta illegally utilised more than Rs.100 crore of the trust's funds for legal fees and other unauthorised expenses. After the appointment of new committee members, we conducted a forensic audit and uncovered these irregularities.
The accused created bogus bills, and the forensic report confirmed these findings. We then approached the Magistrate Court, which ordered the filing of this case."
When contacted by The Free Press Journal, Chetan Mehta responded, "I do not know what is happening. I am still trying to find out," before disconnecting the call. The police have registered the case under Sections 34 (common intention), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), and 467 (forgery of valuable security) of the Indian Penal Code.
