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Bandra Police arrest Naresh Singh, driver of Honey Irani, for Rs 12 lakh fraud using Farhan Akhtar’s cards with petrol pump employee Arun Singh.
Farhan Akhtar’s driver has been arrested.
Mumbai Police have arrested the driver of veteran screenwriter and actor Honey Irani, mother of filmmaker-actor Farhan Akhtar, in connection with an alleged Rs 12 lakh fraud involving misuse of family credit cards. The accused, identified as Naresh Singh, 35, was taken into custody by the Bandra Police after an internal review by Irani’s manager uncovered the financial discrepancies.
According to officials, the alleged fraud came to light on October 1 when Irani’s manager, Diya Bhatia, discovered irregularities in fuel expenditure records. A Maruti vehicle owned by Irani, which has a fuel tank capacity of 35 litres, was found to have been billed for 621 litres of diesel. This prompted an immediate investigation.
Bhatia also noticed that the same credit cards were repeatedly used for unusually high transactions at a petrol pump in Bandra West. When questioned, the driver reportedly gave inconsistent answers, claiming to have used only one card. Further scrutiny revealed that three separate cards, all registered under Farhan Akhtar’s name, had been used.
The probe also found entries showing the purchase of engine oil for a vehicle that had been sold seven years earlier.
Police said Naresh Singh allegedly collaborated with Arun Singh, a 52-year-old employee at a Bandra West petrol pump, to carry out the scam. Instead of actually filling fuel, Naresh would swipe the cards and receive cash from Arun, who kept a commission of around Rs 1,000–Rs 1,500 per transaction.
Bhatia, after uncovering the suspicious activity, confronted Naresh in the presence of Honey Irani. During the meeting, he confessed to the fraud. According to the FIR, Naresh admitted that he obtained the cards in 2022 from Santosh Kumar, Akhtar’s former driver, and had been misusing them ever since.
Following Bhatia’s complaint, Bandra Police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — including Sections 318 (criminal breach of trust) and 418 (cheating). Arun Singh, the petrol pump employee accused of being an accomplice, is currently absconding.
The case remains under investigation, with authorities verifying the total amount of money misappropriated and whether others may have been involved in the scheme.
October 05, 2025, 13:24 IST
