Ex-CBI sleuth to probe Cafe Coffee Day owner Siddhartha's letter
Bengaluru: Former CBI official Ashok Kumar Malhotra will investigate the letter that Cafe Coffee Day owner V.G. Siddhartha purportedly wrote to the company's board on July 27, two days before he went missing and was then found dead on July 31, a CCD official said on Saturday.
"Though the board on August 8 appointed global audit firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) to investigate the letter's contents, it has decided to engage Malhotra's services after the former recused itself from the probe citing conflict of interest," the official told IANS here.
Malhotra is a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
E&Y was also to scrutinise the books of accounts of the company and its subsidiaries.
"As E&Y is also our external auditor, adviser on taxation, providing software and does due diligence of the company and its subsidiaries, a conflict of interest was found in probing the letter," said the official, citing a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
New Delhi-based Agastya Legal LLP will assist Malhotra in the investigation into the contents of the two-page letter found in Siddhartha's office in the city on July 30 when a search was carried to find out if he left any suicide note.
Siddhartha, 60, is alleged to have committed suicide on July 29 night by jumping off the road bridge into the Netravathi river, as his body was found on its banks on July 31 morning.
In the signed letter, Siddhartha claims to be solely responsible for all the mistakes he apparently committed.
"I am solely responsible for all mistakes. Every financial transaction is my responsibility. My team, auditors and senior management are totally unaware of all my transactions. The law should hold me, and only me accountable, as I have withheld this information from everybody including my family," the letter, which was found in Siddhartha's table drawer, said.
The state police is investigating the case to ascertain what drove Siddhartha to commit suicide, and a forensic audit of his personal accounts and company books will reveal the mistakes he claims to have made and the transactions his team, auditors and senior management were unaware of.
The Income Tax department, which was inspecting his office and personal accounts for compliances, claimed Siddhartha's signature in the letter was not the same as in his annual reports, though the company's board confirmed that it was authentic.
"My intention was never to cheat or mislead anybody, I have failed as an entrepreneur. This is my sincere submission, I hope someday you will understand, forgive and pardon me," said Siddhartha, sounding apologetic for omissions and commissions that ended his life.
Malhotra handled high profile cases ranging from investigations involving banks and securities-related cases of late stockbroker Harshad Mehta.
"Malhotra shall appoint and take support of any other professional/firm to expedite the investigation into the letter," added the filing.
Courtesy: www.indiatoday.in
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Bus helper held for stealing USD 1,600 from Iranian woman's purse in Delhi; money recovered
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a bus helper and recovered USD 1,600 that was allegedly stolen from the purse of an Iranian woman who had forgotten it on a private bus at ISBT Kashmere Gate, an official said on Sunday.
The incident came to light on December 15, when a complaint was lodged at the ISBT Kashmere Gate police post by Dr Ali Akbar Shah, a professor at Delhi University and a resident of Mukherjee Nagar, the police said.
He informed police that his guest, Fareshteh Sayanjali, an Iranian national, had arrived in India on December 13 and was staying at his residence, they said.
The woman had travelled to Uttarakhand's Rishikesh and was returning to Delhi on December 15 in a bus. While de-boarding at ISBT Kashmere Gate around 1.45 pm, she inadvertently left her purse on the bus seat, the police officer said.
After some time, she received a phone call from the bus operator informing her that the purse had been found in the vehicle. However, when the purse was handed back to her, she discovered that USD 1,600 in cash kept inside was missing," the officer added.
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Based on Dr Shah's statement, an FIR was registered at Kashmere Gate police station on December 16, and an investigation was taken up, police said.
During the investigation, the team questioned the driver and conductor of the bus in which the woman had travelled, police said.
During questioning, the conductor told police that Monish, the bus helper, found the purse lying abandoned on a seat and handed it over to him, police said.
Monish initially attempted to mislead the investigators, but later confessed to stealing the US dollars from the purse, police said
Following his disclosure, Monish was arrested on December 17 and recovered the entire stolen amount, police said.
The accused, Monish, 26, is a resident of Jahangirpuri in north Delhi.
He has studied up to Class 10 and has been working as a helper with the private bus service for the past year, they said.
