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Natwarlal
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Natwarlal
Natwarlal (born Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava; 1912 — 25 July 2009) was an Indian fraudster known for his high-profile crimes and prison escapes, including having supposedly "sold" the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the Parliament House of India on multiple occasions. If valued today, these properties would be worth approximately ₹129 billion ($1.4 billion) in total.
Natwarlal was born Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava in the village of Bangra in the Siwan district of Bihar. He was the older of two brothers. His father was a station master.
Natwarlal first discovered his ability to forge after a neighbour sent him to deposit his bank drafts. Realising he could easily forge his neighbour's signature, he managed to withdraw 1,000 rupees from his neighbour's account before he noticed. Fleeing to Calcutta, Natwarlal enrolled as a student for a bachelor of commerce degree while working as a casual stock broker. He also tried to set up a cloth business, but failed.
His house in Bangra is said to have been demolished by the British, though the land still belongs to his family.
As Natwarlal's father was a station master, he knew information about the railway freight industry in India. Likewise, his bachelor of commerce degree and his stint as a stock broker gave him the knowledge of banking rules. His ability to forge documents and signatures helped him successfully pull off various cons.
After his first arrest in 1937 for stealing nine tonnes of iron, Natwarlal temporarily changed tactics. According to police, he would visit prostitutes regularly, give them tainted liquor, steal their jewellery and money, and escape. However, Natwarlal soon deemed this tactic too dangerous, and he went back to conning.
Natwarlal is said to have duped hundreds of shop owners, jewellers, bankers, and foreigners of lakhs of rupees, using over fifty different aliases to disguise himself. He often used novel ideas to cheat people, such as one instance in the 1950s where he swindled the Punjab National Bank out of ₹6.5 lakhs in a scam involving rail freight and bags of rice. He was also proficient in forging signatures of famous personalities. He is said to have supposedly cheated a number of industrialists including the Tatas, the Birlas, and Dhirubhai Ambani, taking from them huge sums of money. A legend states that Natwarlal once "sold" the Parliament House to a foreigner; included in the purchase were the members of parliament themselves. He sometimes posed as a social worker or needy people, though he would also pose as a business manager and purchasing officer. He often paid his victims with fake cheques and demand drafts.
Natwarlal was reportedly a Robin Hood-like figure in Bangra, his native village. He is said to have given his earnings to the less-fortunate. Tales of his cons, which tended to be non-violent and only targeted the rich and wealthy, made him very popular. According to a resident of Siwan town, Natwartal's presence drew very large crowds whenever he visited. In one reported instance, Natwarlal went to Bangra to host a large feast for everyone in the village using his spoils. During the feast, he gave ₹100 to each poor villager before vanishing.
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Natwarlal
Natwarlal (born Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava; 1912 — 25 July 2009) was an Indian fraudster known for his high-profile crimes and prison escapes, including having supposedly "sold" the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the Parliament House of India on multiple occasions. If valued today, these properties would be worth approximately ₹129 billion ($1.4 billion) in total.
Natwarlal was born Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava in the village of Bangra in the Siwan district of Bihar. He was the older of two brothers. His father was a station master.
Natwarlal first discovered his ability to forge after a neighbour sent him to deposit his bank drafts. Realising he could easily forge his neighbour's signature, he managed to withdraw 1,000 rupees from his neighbour's account before he noticed. Fleeing to Calcutta, Natwarlal enrolled as a student for a bachelor of commerce degree while working as a casual stock broker. He also tried to set up a cloth business, but failed.
His house in Bangra is said to have been demolished by the British, though the land still belongs to his family.
As Natwarlal's father was a station master, he knew information about the railway freight industry in India. Likewise, his bachelor of commerce degree and his stint as a stock broker gave him the knowledge of banking rules. His ability to forge documents and signatures helped him successfully pull off various cons.
After his first arrest in 1937 for stealing nine tonnes of iron, Natwarlal temporarily changed tactics. According to police, he would visit prostitutes regularly, give them tainted liquor, steal their jewellery and money, and escape. However, Natwarlal soon deemed this tactic too dangerous, and he went back to conning.
Natwarlal is said to have duped hundreds of shop owners, jewellers, bankers, and foreigners of lakhs of rupees, using over fifty different aliases to disguise himself. He often used novel ideas to cheat people, such as one instance in the 1950s where he swindled the Punjab National Bank out of ₹6.5 lakhs in a scam involving rail freight and bags of rice. He was also proficient in forging signatures of famous personalities. He is said to have supposedly cheated a number of industrialists including the Tatas, the Birlas, and Dhirubhai Ambani, taking from them huge sums of money. A legend states that Natwarlal once "sold" the Parliament House to a foreigner; included in the purchase were the members of parliament themselves. He sometimes posed as a social worker or needy people, though he would also pose as a business manager and purchasing officer. He often paid his victims with fake cheques and demand drafts.
Natwarlal was reportedly a Robin Hood-like figure in Bangra, his native village. He is said to have given his earnings to the less-fortunate. Tales of his cons, which tended to be non-violent and only targeted the rich and wealthy, made him very popular. According to a resident of Siwan town, Natwartal's presence drew very large crowds whenever he visited. In one reported instance, Natwarlal went to Bangra to host a large feast for everyone in the village using his spoils. During the feast, he gave ₹100 to each poor villager before vanishing.