Former Dabbawala head held for loan fraud

On Monday, January 4, Mumbai Police arrested Subhash Talekar, former president of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association.

This comes amidst allegations of him cheating 55 dabbawalas in a loan fraud case, collectively amounting to ₹7 lakhs. As per reports, seventy dabbawalas signed loan documents but only 15 were given bikes. Moreover, as most of the dabbawalas signed on blank papers to avail two-wheelers for tiffin delivery, each paid ₹10,000-15,000 as an initial amount.

This scam came in view when all of these dabbawalas got default notices. Moreover, those who received the bikes had to part with them. In February last year, police booked five persons, including three members of the association. Talekar was arrested from his village in Pune. According to sources, the arrest was delayed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Dabbawalas of Mumbai that has been functioning in the city since the 1890s, delivering warm home-cooked meals to the workplaces of the residents in the island city. As a result of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the regular flow of income has taken a hit, especially in the case of the Dabbawalas.

However, ever since the plight of the famous dabbawalas came to the forefront, many people have come forward to save this indigenous business Mumbai is famous for. Since 1890, the dabbawalas have been fulfilling the hunger of almost 200,000 Mumbaikars with home-cooked food. This move by the government even though has been made to make the lives of the dabbawalas easier, the technological setbacks regarding the same has made the situation difficult to tread.