London: A 21-year-old spoilt son who faked his own Bollywood-style kidnapping in a bid to swindle his rich Indian-origin businessman father out of 620,000 pounds worth of gold, has instead landed in jail for three years.
Viraj Mashru hatched a plot with the help of a friend, Amit Patel, 26, after his father Rajendra Mashru stopped his 500-pound-a-week allowance to curb his lavish ways as a student in Britain.
The Mombasa, Kenya-based businessman who runs a logistics firm PN Mashru Limited received a call from Patel demanding a ransom in exchange for the release of his kidnapped son, who was hiding out in a London hotel all the while.
Patel and another accomplice Marcus Bennet, 31, made a series of such calls in October 2012 instructing Rajendra Mashru to deposit 614,000 pounds in gold bullion in an account at London’s famous store, Harrods.
During one of the calls, Patel reportedly threatened to “rape” Mashru and cut off his fingers if the ransom was not paid. However, the police caught up with them and they were arrested on November 1 when the car they were travelling in was intercepted. Prosecutor Caroline Haughey told the court that Mashru’s “entire existence in the UK was funded by his family in Kenya.”
“However recently the relationship cooled between Mr Mashru and his father to the extent his father, Rajendra, stopped providing him with money. Mr Mashru subsequently came up with a plan to deceive his father into paying a significant amount of money. In October 2012, Mr Mashru created a scenario whereby there was created an impression that he had disappeared,” she added.
Mashru initially stuck with his story, but when Patel told the police that the kidnapping was bogus, he admitted that he had been in on the conspiracy.
Both men were taken to Belgravia police station where they made full admissions. Sentencing Viraj at Southwark Crown Court in London on Friday, Judge Alastair McCreath told him that what he did was “a cruel exploitation of your father’s love for you”.
Viraj had admitted one count of conspiracy to blackmail and was jailed for three years and nine months. Bennett from north-west London admitted the same charge and was sentenced to 12 months in jail. (PTI)