Mumbai: Matunga police have registered a case of an alleged Rs 4.5 crore financial fraud involving a fake medical fundraising campaign. The complainant, Arif Ahmed Mansoor Sheikh, a social worker from Mahim, accused Piyush Jain, director of Impact Guru app, along with Nikhat Khan and Noufil Kazi, of conspiring to defraud the public by misusing funds collected for a child’s medical treatment.
Matunga police registered an FIR of cheating, forgery and breach of trust after a magistrate court directed them to register it on a private complaint under CrPC 156 (3).
According to the complaint, between Jan 2024 and June 2024, the accused falsely claimed that a four-year-old child required Rs 17 crore for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and was admitted to Hinduja Hospital for care. The campaign was promoted through a story posted on actress Sana Khan’s Instagram account on Jan 11.
Instead of directing funds into the hospital’s official account, the accused allegedly collected over Rs 4.5 crore through various online payment methods into personal accounts. It was later allegedly found the funds were not used for the child’s treatment, but instead misappropriated for personal gain. Deputy commissioner of police (zone4) Raghasudha confirmed the development. Police have begun an investigation and are tracking the flow of funds to ensure accountability. — S Ahmed Ali