Mumbai Restaurant Fraud: Rs 1.23 Crore Embezzled From Banana Leaf Owners in Santacruz; Operation Manager Booked

A startling case of fraud has surfaced in Mumbai's Santacruz area, where nearly Rs 1.23 crore has been embezzled from the owners of the Banana Leaf Restaurant. The Santacruz police have registered a case against Dinath Sudhakar Shetty, the operations manager of the restaurant, for allegedly creating fake documents to siphon off the money. Dinath is alleged of misappropriating funds collected at the restaurant from January to May 2024 without depositing them into the bank account. The police have told that the investigation into these crimes is ongoing.

Suraj Raghuveer Shetty, a hotelier who owns five Banana Leaf restaurants in Mumbai, employed Dinath Shetty as the operations manager. The daily collections from all five branches were to be deposited at the Banana Leaf head office on Juhu-Tara Road, Santacruz. Dinath was entrusted with this responsibility. However, Dinath allegedly misused his position and embezzled nearly Rs 1.23 crore from the restaurant's daily collections, thereby deceiving the hotel owner. This entire malpractice occurred between January 1 and May 1, 2024.

Recently, Suraj Shetty noticed discrepancies in the accounts and confronted Dinath Shetty. During this confrontation, Dinath admitted to misappropriating around Rs 50 lakh and promised to return the amount. He even attempted to mislead the owners by creating some fake documents. However, even after three months, he failed to return the embezzled amount.

Following this incident, Suraj Shetty lodged a formal complaint with the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). Subsequently, the DCP instructed the Santacruz police to investigate the matter. After a thorough investigation, the police recorded Suraj Shetty's statement. Based on this, a case has been registered against Dinath Shetty under sections 408, 420, 467, 477A, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Dinath, a resident of Shreeji Tower, Geeta Nagar No. 3, Mira Road, is currently under investigation, and the police are expected to question him soon.