Kerala godman dupes Powai philanthropist of ₹5.5 crore in name of award

A Kerala godman has been booked for allegedly duping a philanthropist of ?5.5 crore after offering him an award for relief work during the 2018 floods.

MUMBAI: A Kerala based self-proclaimed godman has been booked for allegedly duping a 72-year-old philanthropist of ₹5.5 crore after offering the latter an award for relief works during the 2018 floods in the southern state.

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According to the police, Powai resident A S Madhavan, who is the managing trustee of Warrier Foundation, was handed over the award at the hands of former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Madhavan Nair at a ceremony held in Palakkad, Kerala, in 2018. Madhavan is the founder of Flyjac Logistics Private Limited, which he sold to Hitachi Transport Systems in 1990.

“In September 2018, Swami Sunil Das Prabhakaran of Palakkad-based Muthalamada Charitable Trust called up Madhavan and told him that Madhavan’s charitable trust was selected for the award given in the name of TN Seshan, former chief election commissioner, for constructing houses for flood-affected people,” a police official said.

“Madhvan was told that the award included a cheque worth ₹25 crore, which could be utilised to further his trust’s work,” the police added.

Prabhakaran invited Madhavan to receive the award in Palakkad from the former ISRO chairman. “The philanthropist was also given a cheque of ₹25 crore by Prabhakaran,” the police officer said, adding “However, the cheque did not have any date and when the complainant enquired with Prabhakaran, he was told not to deposit it for encashment immediately.”

The accused later told Madhavan that a loan was creating hurdles in release of the award money and demanded ₹1.5 crore, which the complainant paid, the police added. Soon, Prabhakaran asked Madhavan to clear one more of their loans and took ₹4 crore.

However, when Madhavan went to encash the ₹25-crore cheque, it was dishonoured and never received the award money.

The philanthropist eventually approached the Powai police after his requests to the accused for returning at least the amount spent by him on clearing the loans did not yield any result, the officer added.

A case under sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the godman.

“We have registered a case after a prima facie enquiry and investigations are going on,” Budhan Sawant, senior inspector, said.