Delhi man dupes Indian girl in US

New Delhi, Oct 17:

The 30-year-old accused, Akhil Mukherjee, a school dropout was arrested recently from his Deshbandhu Apartments at Kalkaji in New Delhi on charges of forgery, DCP (Economic Offences Wing) Prabhakar said.

The victim, Anusuya Mohan, did her Bachelor of Electronics and Communication from India in 1998, and went abroad to study further in Duke University in North Carolina, America. After completing Masters Degree in Science, she got a job with Motorola, Schaumburg as system engineer where she is now working.

In her complaint, Anusuya said she obtained a membership of a matrimonial website in March 2003 under the identification 'Woodrose'. The same month, she contacted a person on the internet, apparently working as a business consultant in Chicago and drawing a salary of 150,000 to 200,000 dollars annually. He claimed to have lived in Asia, Europe and North America and was a Green Card Holder.

She received an e-mail on March 12, 2003 in which the person introduced himself as Akhil Mukerjee whose father had died and his mother had single-handedly looked after him and his younger sister.

He said he was based in Chicago, but was currently in Hanhover, Germany, attending a technology fair and would be back in the US by month end.

In the subsequent e-mails, Akhil claimed that he studied at a boarding school in Shimla and did his undergraduate from London School of Economic and Masters from the Stern School of Business, New York. He also claimed to have worked with Goldman Sachs in New York for a few years before moving to Chicago.

In further e-mails, he said he was a US Green Card Holder running his business at Chicago under the name and style 'Real World Services'. In one e-mail he said he was postponing his return to Chicago by a month as his mother was visiting Brussels for a conference. He also stated that his sister was pregnant and was expecting a baby in July.

Later he said his sister and brother-in-law have met with a serious car accident in Delhi and he and his mother had to leave for India. When Anusuya called him up, he said his sister was in Apollo Hospital with internal head injuries. and she had delivered a premature baby. He then proposed to her for the first time.

On June 12 the same year, he said his sister had undergone a surgery and an American doctor from Chicago would be flying to India for further surgery. He also informed her that his bank accounts had been frozen by the US authorities as he was out of the country, and they needed to verify his status.

In September, he told her that he was having financial problems and needed money to pay her sister's medical bills.

Anusuya immediately send him money through Western Union transfers as well as directly to ICICI Bank, Connaught Place.

At his instance, Anusuya and her parents came to India in January this year and contacted him on phone. He said his family was flying out to Singapore that week and could not meet her.

In mid April, he sent an SMS and an e-mail to her saying that he was back in Chicago. When she and her parents went to meet him, he refused to meet them and said he wanted to settle his financial problem first.

He had earlier disclosed to her that he had a maternal uncle. Bal Krishan Sansi, living in Naperville near Chicago. On the basis of the name, Anusuya tracked down his uncle through the internet in May. It was then that the uncle disclosed that Akhil was Delhi-based, working part time in a computer company, never lived in Chicago, never studied abroad, and a week earlier his sister had delivered a baby and that no accident ever took place.

On May 19, Akhil called Anusuya on phone and admitted that he had put his profile on the website just to have fun and make easy money.

Thereafter, he broke all contacts with her.

(UNI)

India-born bank teller sentenced to 13 months in prison in US

Rajiv Sidhana's accomplice Thomas Galati, 25, got 18 months in prison while a third partner Micron Sanchez Rodriguez, who is in the US illegally, is being held without bail.

Sidhana, who had a bright career ahead of him, and Galati could have got 37 to 46 months in prison but the prosecutor called for reduced sentences and US district judge Faith S Hochberg described the case as "exceptional" while sentencing them.

But Sidhana faces deportation after release, as he is not a permanent resident or an American citizen. He would have received Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology in December.

The drama began on January 2 evening in Midland Park in New Jersey State when Rodriguez handed over a two-page note to Sidhana who was working as a teller. The note, the court records show, was written by Galati a few days earlier.

Galati emptied the bank vault and Sidhana handed him the entire cash. Then Galati pretended to take Sidhana hostage and the three drove off with 202,000 dollars. Sidhana then drove back to bank and reported the matter to police.

Authorities say both cooperated right from the beginning and the entire amount was recovered and returned to the bank.

Galati said his gambling habit had made him borrow money and he was beaten up by those to whom he owned money. He was hospitalized and after he was discharged, his creditors had threatened to kill his mother and other family members. That had made him to hatch the scheme.

Both Galati and Sidhana offered tearful apologies before the judge who sentenced them.

"I am just very ashamed. My dad worked really hard for 12 years to put me through the college and it's very hard to see my family like this. I made a mistake. I'm so sorry," Sidhana said.

His lawyer Joseph P Rem Jr was quoted as saying that Sidhana became involved with the robbery because he was such a compassionate person that he would help anyone in need.

"When a friend came to him and said his life was in danger, he would do anything to help him. This is his makeup," he added.

His family, Rem said, is ready to go with him if he is deported but his mother has developed a medical condition that would require her to stay in the United States. (PTI)