While two of the five sons of the person who has come to be known as the ‘lakhpati beggar’ arrived on Tuesday to claim his body, the one who has been named nominee to the fixed deposits is yet to reach Navi Mumbai.
When contacted by Vashi GRP, Sukhdev, the nominee and eldest son of Biradichand Pannaramji Azad (82) from Govandi, claimed to have got separated from his father after the 1993 Mumbai riots. Sukhdev was traced to Rajasthan.
Azad, who begged for a living died on Friday evening last week in a railway accident. Inquiries by Vashi GRP led them to his shanty in Tata Nagar, Govandi. On searching the shanty they found coins totalling ₹1.47 lakh stashed in four sacks. They also found Fixed Deposit certificates in two local banks for ₹8.77 lakh.
The nominee in every fixed deposit was named as his son Sukhdev and his address mentioned was Ramgad, Taluka Fatehpur, district Sikar in Rajasthan. With the help of a local newspaper and some contacts in Rajasthan, the police traced Sukhdev. “He told us that after the 1993 riots, he had left Mumbai along with his brothers while his father stayed back and since then there has been no contact. None of his neighbours knew about his family or his savings. He always had food from his neighbour’s house. The nearby residents always offered him food and snacks as they believed he lived off begging. They used to take care of him even when he fell ill. It came as a surprise for all on knowing about his savings,” said sub-inspector Pravin Kamble from Vashi GRP.
It took four officials from Vashi GRP day to finish counting the coins. “We started counting on Saturday afternoon and finished only by Sunday noon,” Mr. Kamble said. As news of Azad’s death and his leaving behind so much wealth spread, the sons approached Vashi GRP.
On Tuesday Savarmal and Rajkumar who claim to be two of Azad’s five sons, reached Vashi GRP. “Savarmal claims he is a resident of Mumbai and had gone to Goa for work, and his other brother Rajkumar, who was visiting him in Mumbai, joined him in the trip. They both met us but we haven’t yet given custody of the body as we are waiting for Sukhdev. If he doesn’t have enough proof to prove that he is the son, we might opt for DNA test as well depending on what senior officers suggest,” said senior police inspector Nandakishore Saste from Vashi GRP.
