Why has Hardik Pandya’s stepbrother been arrested?
Hardik Pandya's stepbrother Vaibhav Pandya has been arrested by Mumbai Police for allegedly cheating him and his brother Krunal Pandya for INR 4.3 crore in a business-related affair. The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) arrested the accused on March 10 and he has been sent in police custody for five days.
As per reports, Vaibhav transferred Krunal and Hardik's profits to a separate firm by breaching the terms of the contract which led to losses for the Pandya brothers.
In 2021, Vaibhav opened a polymer company and asked Krunal and Hardik to invest 40 percent capital each. The formed pledged to fund the remaining 20 percent. The profit sharing was also based on the same ratio.
An EOW officer was quoted as saying (via The Indian Express):
“Vaibhav allegedly diverted money from the LLP (limited liability partnership) firm to his own firm. Gradually the profit in the partnership firm dropped.
"Besides, in excess to his due share Vaibhav also allegedly fraudulently increased his profit percentage in the LLP firm without letting the two brothers know. For this, he allegedly forged signatures of the Pandya brothers on an LLP agreement."
Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya are playing for MI and LSG in IPL 2024
Hardik Pandya is leading Mumbai Indians and Krunal Pandya is playing for the Lucknow Super Giants in the ongoing IPL edition.
Hardik Pandya recently led MI to their first win of the IPL 2024 season as they beat Delhi Capitals by 29 runs. That came after Mumbai lost their first three games against Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals, respectively. They will next face off against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Wankhede Stadium on April 11.
With the bat, Hardik has returned with scores of 11, 24, 34 and 39, respectively.
On the other hand, Krunal Pandya finished with figures of 3/11 as LSG beat GT. The left-handed batter also smashed an unbeaten 43 against Punjab Kings. LSG won both of these games. The KL Rahul-led side have three wins in the first four games. They will next lock horns with DC at Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 12.