Hardik Pandya's stepbrother held for cheating cricketer of over Rs 4 crore in business
Mumbai, Apr 11: The Mumbai police have arrested cricketer Hardik Pandya's stepbrother for allegedly cheating him and his brother Krunal in polymer business to the tune of more than Rs 4 crore, an official said on Thursday.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police arrested 37-year-old Vaibhav Pandya on Monday on the charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, forgery and other relevant sections, he said.
"The cricketer brothers along with their stepbrother set up a partnership-based firm in Mumbai and started polymer business in 2021. As per the partnership terms, the siblings invested 40 per cent each, while Vaibhav invested 20 percent capital. It was decided that Vaibhav would handle daily operations of the business and the profits were distributed in the same ratio," the official said.
"Vaibhav then set up another firm dealing in the same business without informing the cricketers and started the business. With this, he violated the partnership agreement," he said.
Due to the new company, the profits of the original partnership firm came down and caused a loss approximate Rs 3 crore, the official said.
During this period, he increased his own profit by 20 to 33 per cent and caused loss to Hardik Pandya and his brother. Vaibhav also diverted funds from the partnership account to his own, which is around Rs 1 crore, he added.
When he was confronted by the cricketer, he allegedly threatened to tarnish the latter's reputation, he said.
A complaint was lodged by the accountant of the cricketer at the Khar police station on Monday, based on which a case was registered and it was transferred to the EOW.
As the involvement of Vaibhav Pandya came to light in the crime, he was placed under arrest by the EOW officials on the same day, he said.
He was produced in a local court, which remanded him in police custody till Friday, he said.
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Violation of common logic: Kerala Minister slams NCERT's Hindi titles for English textbooks
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala General Education Minister V. Sivankutty criticised the decision of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to use Hindi titles for English-medium textbooks, describing it as irrational. He accused the central government of "cultural imposition" and of "sabotaging the linguistic diversity of the country."
NCERT reportedly released the new names of books for various classes. Class 1 and Class 2 books are now named as 'Mridang' and a Class 3 book named as 'Santoor'. The Class 6 English book has been renamed from 'Honeysuckle' to 'Poorvi.'
“The NCERT decision is against federal principles and the Constitutional values. It is not only violation of common logic, but an incident of foisting one’s cultural values in such a manner sabotaging the linguistic diversity of our country,” asserted Sivankutty.
The minister argued that the titles in the textbooks are not just names; they shape the perception and imagination of children, adding that English-medium students should have English titles in their textbooks. He opined that education should not be an instrument of imposition but of empowerment and consensus.
He further called upon the NCERT to review and withdraw this decision and urged all states to unite against such impositions.
