Mumbai: When Parimeeta Bhattacharya showed up at the doorstep of the Mishras, seeking tenancy in their Jogeshwari flat, she allegedly identified herself as the alienated daughter of West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The family, impressed by her credentials, agreed to accommodate her.
They didn't suspect that their association with her over the next three years would shake them down for Rs 2.8 crore, cost them their ancestral property, family jewels, house, and leave them maxed out credit cards, a lot of debt, and shattered trust, as they put it.
Parimeeta, Paromeeta Chakraborty (28), came into the contact of the Mishras in 2007 through an estate agent. She wanted to rent the family's flat in Malad.
Said Usha Mishra, wife of Kailash, and mother of Sanjeev and Sandhya, "She said that she was the daughter of WB CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya from his first wife, whom he had disowned along with herself. We believed her."
She added, "Parimeeta stayed with us and kept borrowing money. She showed us false papers saying that the Income Tax department raided her house and seized Rs 29 crore. We lent her the money as she convinced us that the government would return her money as she was the CM's daughter."
Tenant in need
Parimeeta stayed with them until November 2010. "In June 2009, she approached my daughter Sandhya and asked for Rs 15 lakh, assuring her that she would repay the money in 10 days. She gave her car papers as surety. As we trusted her, Sandhya used her fixed deposit to help her out," Usha said.
In July, she allegedly gave Usha a fake demand draft of Rs 78 lakh and asked for Rs 55 lakh against it. "We considered her as family.
So this time, my husband encashed his share certificate and fixed deposit," adding that Parimeeta would often talk about her connections with influential people. Allegedly, a couple of months later, she again needed money and took a personal loan of Rs 20 lakh in Usha's son Sanjeev's name.
"I work in retail business and earn Rs 60,000 a month. But after the loan that she took in my name, I only get Rs 2,000 in hand. She had signed an agreement in which she agreed to pay monthly installments. But she stopped the payments in February 2010. She also exhausted my credit cards till their limit," said Sanjeev.
"During this period, she visited our native place at Rae Bareily and convinced us to mortgage our house. She borrowed Rs 5 lakh from us and more from our relatives," Usha said.
Listing the last of the deceptions that left the family shell shocked, she said, "She sold our flat that she had rented in Malad for Rs 40 lakh to an acquaintance, even though it was worth Rs 70 lakh."
"In November 2010, Parimeeta said she was suffering from cancer and had to leave. Even while leaving, she asked for 120 tolas of gold, and we gave it to her.
During her stay with us, she fleeced us of about Rs 2.8 crore, all things considered. She even calls us now and assures us of repaying the money," said Usha.
They filed a case against Parimeeta at the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for committing fraud. "We thought she was who she claimed and that she was genuinely in need. So we sought to help her. But she brought us out on the streets," Usha said.
Advocate Sujit Pathak, who filed the case said, "My clients are senior citizens, and this woman cheated them by showing them false document.
We have filed a complaint, and hope that justice will be done."
Sanjay Saxena, additional commissioner, EOW, said, "I have not read the complaint letter yet. We will have to see the nature of the complaint to decide upon the action to be taken. We may initiate legal action."
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