Mumbai Court Denies Bail to Hardik Pandya’s Stepbrother in Cheating Case

Mumbai: The bail plea of Vaibhav Pandya, stepbrother of cricketers Hardik and Kunal Pandya, was denied by a Mumbai court on Thursday. Vaibhav was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police in April on various charges, including criminal breach of trust and forgery.

The court, in its decision, cited the seriousness of the economic offence and the significant amount involved in the case as reasons for denying bail. Vaibhav stands accused of cheating his siblings in a polymer business venture to the tune of over Rs 4 crore.

According to police reports, the cricketer brothers, along with Vaibhav, established a partnership-based firm in Mumbai for polymer business in 2021. However, Vaibhav allegedly violated the partnership agreement by setting up another firm in the same business without informing his brothers. This resulted in decreased profits for the original partnership firm and purportedly led to losses.

The court noted that Vaibhav allegedly increased his own profits through forged signatures of his brothers. Additionally, large sums of money were transferred to Vaibhav’s account on two occasions, raising suspicions of fraudulent activities.

In his defence, Vaibhav claimed discrepancies in the partnership agreement and argued that the transferred funds were related to business transactions. However, the court emphasized the need for a thorough investigation due to the substantial amount involved and the seriousness of the alleged offences.