Shifu Sunkriti leader Sunil Kulkarni forged signature of girl he lured into Mumbai cult to finalise deal

The Mumbai crime branch has added new charges of forgery against Shifu Sunkriti cult leader Sunil Kulkarni after the police found that Kulkarni had made a deal with a Bhopal firm on behalf of one of the girls whom he allegedly ‘influenced’.

The police came across this information after they found a cheque book of the Malad-based girl, whose father had filed the petition in the high court on April 18. The police found that Kulkarni had forged her signature on the cheque book without her knowledge and had misused her bank account.

Kulkarni was arrested on April 20 following a high court order, after three couples alleged he had lured their daughters — four women in their twenties — into taking drugs and made them leave their homes. The couples claimed their daughters were refusing to come back home because Shifu Sunkriti, which operates on social media, had entrapped them. The couples claimed their daughters’ behaviour had “changed drastically”.

The police found that Kulkarni used the girl’s cheque book to sign an MOU with an ice cream firm in Bhopal on the girl’s name. He finalised the deal at Rs23 crore. Kulkarni even took Rs5.50 lakh from the company, which was deposited in girl’s account.

“We have recorded the statement of the girl. She told us that she was not aware about the MoU with the company or even that Rs5.50 lakh was transferred to her account. The charge of forgery was added based on her statement,” said a crime branch officer.

On Wednesday, Kulkarni was produced in the magistrate court and sent to judicial custody till May 16.

What we know about the cult

• Sunil Kulkarni was arrested on April 20 on various charges, including human trafficking.

• Officials said they found several pictures of women photographed by Kulkarni at his home. Police suspect that Kulkarni sexually exploited and extorted money from them.

• They said that Kulkarni made fake profiles of the women on Facebook. The police are investigating whether he cheated people using fake accounts.

• During their search of Kulkarni’s Bandra residence, police found his mobile phone and a pen drive, both of which contained sexually explicit clips. They also found a book with explicit material.

• Before his arrest, Kulkarni had already been charged with was cheating and extorting money from students seeking MBBS seats in Delhi, Nagpur and Pune.