Mumbai: Unhappy with his “poor” annual increment despite his “hard work”, a young man stole a cheque worth nearly Rs30 lakh from his firm. Displaying a convincing degree of competence in his new vocation—crime—he roped in a long chain of accomplices to wipe out the money trail. The person at the end of this five-person chain encashed the cheque, and the stolen money started its journey up the chain. But before it could reach the mastermind, it just exhausted itself.
Thus, despite his brilliance as a planner, Mohammed Salim (35) could not reap the benefits of the crime he stands accused of. Instead, he is in lock-up, along with the five others.
“Salim, a FedEx employee, stole a signed cheque worth Rs 29.9 lakh from his senior’s office and handed it over to his friend, who is a former employee, who then passed it on to another friend, who in turn did the same. Ultimately, starting with Salim, it reached a sixth person, into whose account it was credited,” said senior inspector BT Mukhedkar of Sahar police station.
“This person kept took Rs 5 lakh as commission and handed over the balance to the fifth person. This guy in turn deducted Rs 5 lakh and gave the rest to the second person—the former employee to whom Salim gave the cheque. This is where the money stopped. The second person used all of about Rs 20 lakh to renovate his home, clear his debts and party in hotels. No one else got anything. Salim, the guy who stole the cheque, got nothing!”