Ex-driver convicted in Rs 20 lakh Mumbai heist after 16 years

Sixteen years after a Rs 20 lakh cash heist during a monsoon rainstorm, a Mumbai magistrate's court convicted Ramjit Yadav, former driver of Mandhana Industries Ltd, and sentenced him to three months in prison for theft and criminal breach of trust. The court noted the prosecution had recovered part of the stolen money from Yadav's home and said the punishment was meant as a deterrent.

The heist occurred on July 1, 2008, when the company withdrew Rs 20.25 lakh to pay workers, but heavy rain forced the cash to be brought back to the office. The prosecution said Yadav, who was the driver, took the car keys and the cash while the security guards were away and fled. Police arrested him on July 21, 2008, and recovered Rs 5.65 lakh from a steel container in his kitchen.

The court acquitted fruit vendor Santoshkumar Modi of receiving stolen property due to lack of evidence. Meanwhile, the victim, 72-year-old Purushottam Mandhana, former chairperson of the now-liquidated company, is himself an accused in a separate Rs 975 crore bank loan fraud and money laundering case.