Vaibhav Pandya made news after he was arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly cheating his stepbrothers Krunal and Hardik Pandya, who are international cricketers. According to reports, Vaibhav Pandya is accused of cheating his stepbrothers in a polymer business to the tune of more than Rs 4 crore.
Why was Vaibhav Pandya arrested? 37-year-old Vaibhav Pandya was picked up on Monday on the charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, forgery and other relevant sections. Here is why the Pandya brothers initiated legal action against Vaibhav and what we know about him so far:
What did Vaibhav Pandya do? The Mumbai police have arrested cricketer Hardik Pandya's stepbrother for allegedly cheating him and his brother Krunal in polymer business to the tune of more than Rs 4 crore, an official said on Thursday. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police arrested 37-year-old Vaibhav Pandya on Monday on the charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, forgery and other relevant sections, he said.
The partnership: Vaibhav Pandya reportedly convinced Hardik and Krunal to enter a business partnership with him in 2021. As per the partnership terms, Hardik and Krunal invested 40 per cent each in the polymer business while Vaibhav covered the remaining 20%. The profits from the business were to be shared in the same ratio of the investment and Vaibhav was entrusted to look after the operational obligations, a police source told news agency PTI.
Later, the Pandya brothers learnt that Vaibhav secretly set up an independent firm dealing in polymer, the existence of which was hampering the profits of the firm the three started in partnership. According to the police source, Vaibhav's secret violation of the partnership agreement caused a loss approximately Rs 3 crore to the cricketers while his profit skyrocketed by 20 to 33 per cent. Hardik and Krunal also learnt that Vaibhav also diverted about Rs 1 crore from the partnership account to his own.
The fallout: When Hardik Pandya decided to confront Vaibhav, he was allegedly threatened with consequences including the tarnishing of his reputation. Hardik lodged a complaint at the Khar police station on Monday, which was then handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). He was placed under arrest on the same day and produced in a local court, which remanded him in police custody till Friday, PTI said.
How is Vaibhav Pandya related to Hardik? Vaibhav Pandya's exact relationship with Hardik and Krunal is still unclear. A Sportskeeda report said that Vaibhav was close to Hardik and Krunal's late father Himanshu Pandya, whom he called 'Papa'. Vaibhav has an elder brother whom the report identified as Gauraw Pandya, the report added.