Mumbai: Three employees of ISKCON New Vrindavan East Trust (Madhuban Ashram) have been booked for allegedly embezzling the trust’s donation funds. The Khar police have registered a cheating case based on a complaint filed by the trust. The accused have been identified as Prem Prakash Rana, Harsh Kumar Kaushal, and an unidentified individual.

According to the FIR, the trust’s head office is located in Khar West. The trust manages temples and ashrams in Gurgaon (Haryana), Kurukshetra (Haryana), and Rishikesh (Dehradun), along with Madhuban Ashram. At these premises, the trust provides accommodation and meals to devotees at affordable prices. The administration of Madhuban Ashram is operated from the trust’s Khar office. The ashram has a 25-room guest house for devotees.

On January 12, a devotee, Satyavrat Gaud, approached the trust’s Khar office and filed a complaint. He stated that when he visited Madhuban Ashram in December 2025, he had a meal at the ashram’s restaurant. Initially, the cashier asked for cash, which he refused, and then he paid the bill online. Although he received a receipt, it carried the GST number 05ABRPA4645H1ZP, which does not belong to the trust and is not authorised for its use.

In another incident, a devotee, Shreya Torane, visited Madhuban Ashram in January 2026. She was also asked to pay in cash while booking a room. When she refused, the cashier provided a staff member’s mobile number for payment via Google Pay, which she used.

Further, on January 20, another devotee, Rahul Patil, filed a complaint via email stating that the ashram did not accept online donations and insisted on cash payments. After he donated ₹5,000, the staff issued him two receipts of ₹2,000 each and one receipt of ₹1,000.

Following these complaints, the trust initiated an internal inquiry. It revealed that Prem Prakash Rana alias Paramanand Das (50), who worked as a cashier at the Madhuban Ashram guest house, along with another employee, Harsh Kaushal, and their associates, had created a separate entity with a similar name, “Nav Madhuban Ashram Trust”. The accused allegedly used this entity to cheat devotees by issuing fake receipts. Devotees believed they were dealing with the original trust.

The accused allegedly collected donation money in a personal account opened in the name of “Nav Madhuban Ashram Trust”. They also distributed pamphlets during Krishna Janmashtami (August 2025), printing their own UPI IDs to collect donations. The inquiry further revealed that the accused had been defrauding devotees from 2022 to 2026.

Hirishkesh Mafatlal, 71, founder trustee, subsequently filed a formal complaint. Based on this, the police registered a case on March 29 under Section 318(4) (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Meanwhile, a similar case had been registered against the accused in Uttarakhand in 2019. However, in 2025, a district court in Tehri Garhwal acquitted them due to a lack of evidence.

Mumbai: Powai police have arrested a thief who stole cylinders to take advantage of the oil shortage and shortage of gas cylinders due to the Israel-Iran war. The thief had stolen several cylinders from Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. Mumbai Powai Police has arrested a gas cylinder thief who had stolen 45 cylinders from Navi Mumbai and Mumbai city. According to the details, a Suzuki Burgman was stolen from Powai area and the accused used to steal gas cylinders from several places in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. During the Israel-Iran war, there was a gas cylinder crisis, due to which there was a fear of creating an artificial shortage of cylinders, so the police have arrested him.

The police received a secret information and laid a trap and arrested Chandrakant Kamble, 45, from Vartak Nagar police station and the stolen cylinders stolen from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai have been seized from his possession. In this work, an accused who helped the accused in hiding the stolen cylinders has been identified. When the accused was interrogated, 10 cases of theft were found registered against him. Powai Police has seized three motorcycles, 45 cylinders. This operation was carried out on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti, DCP Dutta Nalavode has done it.

Mumbai’s Sakinaka Police have claimed to have busted a gang that targeted the elderly. In the limits of Sakinaka Police Station, a poor woman was fooled by the accused by saying that her Seth Malik was born here and he was distributing sarees to the poor, so she can also get a saree. For this, he removed the gold ornaments from the poor woman’s neck and then fled with it.

In this case, the complainant filed a complaint. The accused fled with her ornaments worth more than two lakh rupees. Sakinaka Police formed a team to find the accused and then accused number one Santosh Gangar Umm Chure, 55, was arrested from Kalyan. After that, he was interrogated and he named accused number two Balaji Rohidas Pawar, 25, who is a resident of Parbhani. During his interrogation, Laxman Rohidas Pawar, 22, came to light. The police arrested all three of them. Four people were arrested in Worli, Ghat Six in Kopar, three in MIDC, three in Kanjurmarg, one in Vakola, one in Dandu Shi, Malad, Govind, Bhandup, Kherwadi and Dadar. A total of 26 cases are registered against the accused. Accused number two Balaji Rohidas has a criminal record in Dadar, Ghatkopar Kamote. Accused number three Laxman Rohidas has a case registered in Dadar, Ghatkopar Byculla, MN Joshi Marg, Dandu Shi, Juhu, Srinagar Police Station, Sanpara, 2 Saki Naka in Dandu Shi.

After the arrest of these three accused, 13 cases have been revealed and the police have started further investigation in this case. The police have so far recovered gold ornaments worth more than Rs 15 lakh from the possession of the accused.