Magazine proprietor took Rs 1.2 crore for book on PM's talk: Mumbai Police

MUMBAI: The proprietor and editor in chief of a monthly magazine Abhyuday Vatsaly allegedly collected Rs 1.25 crore from at least seven companies on the pretext of publishing a coffee-table book on prime minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann ki baat,' states the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police.
The Mumbai police's crime branch early this week filed a 350-pages-long chargesheet in the case against the publisher and the editor, Alokranjan Krupashankar Tiwari (25) and Krupashankar Narayan Tiwari (54), for cheating.
The crime branch in December last year started an inquiry into a complaint by Anand Keshav Singh, proprietor of a security agency and secretary of Bharatiya Janta Party (Uttar Bhartiya Morcha), alleging that the duo had cheated him of Rs 4,001 in the name of PM Modi. The duo claimed that the book will be released in New Delhi by President Drupadi Murmu in 2023. The accused through social media platforms stated that the book will contain the selected speeches of 'Mann ki baat.'
The investigating officer in the case, Mansingh Patil, along with his team had searched the premises of the magazine in Goregaon in the western suburbs.
Their bank account's statement showed credit of Rs 1.25 crore.
Those who donated money included Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Allcargo Logistic limited, Bhoomi Associates Limited, Godrej Industries, HDFC Mutual Funds, Star Union Life Insurance and Supreme Heights, according to the chargesheet. Police have annexed the statements of various representatives of companies, the bank's statements and witnesses and advertisements on social media as evidence.