Ever conned someone and felt like a pro? But, never could you be this infamous legend who sold the impossible!! Meet India’s classical conman who made fraud look like an art! Here are some facts of what all he did and what he was.
1. Already mentioned in the title- Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava sold Taj mahal, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Red fort and Parliament of India along with its 545 sitting members, not only once but repeatedly!
2. Natwarlal duped hundreds of people worth crores of rupees by disguising himself with more than 50 false identities. He is known to have fooled the Birlas, the Tatas and also, Dhirubhai Ambani by taking huge amounts in the name of charity; yes, he posed as a needy person.
3. He was a master of forging signatures. He even forged signature of President Rajendra Prasad!
4. He belonged to Bihar and it’s said that his statue was going to be erected in his native place. Cops aren’t too pleased with that!
5. It was a task for police to keep him behind the bars. He was arrested 9 times but, managed to slip away every time in mysterious ways!
6. He duped many shop owners with lakhs of rupees; he paid them demand drafts and cheques which were forged!
7. He was last seen by police on June 24, 1996, when he was 84 years old. He was being transferred from prison to AIIMS and just disappeared at New Delhi railway station under police escort. Did I mention he was wheel-chair bound at that time?
8. His adventures inspired Bollywood too. Mr. Natwarlal starring Amitabh Bachchan and Raja Natwarlal starring Emraan Hashmi were inspired by Mithilesh Srivastava!
9. He was wanted in more than 100 cases by 8 state polices! He was sentenced 113 years in prison! He made eight daring escapes!
10. The lawyer of Mithilesh Srivastava asked the court to drop more than 100 charges being held against him in the lieu of his death on July 25, 2009. But, according to his brother Ganga Prasad Srivastava he cremated his brother in 1996 at Ranchi. Did he just dupe people even after his death?
Haha, what a smart man he was!