Society

Ms Rock Runner

Detained for evading customs duty, Sheetal Mafatlal tumbles from her high tower

Advertisement

Ms Rock Runner
info_icon
S
info_icon

A prominent socialite mentioned another well-known P3P who was intercepted last year for bringing in jewellery worth Rs 25 lakh, and the Bachchan father-son duo, who were stopped by officials for using the green channel when in fact they were bringing in goods worth over Rs 1 crore from London before the Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding two years ago. "It seems certain kind of people have come on their (customs) radar. Now we all have to be careful," she sighed. The Bachchans, when apprehended, had paid the duty and penalties amounting to almost Rs 36 lakh, confirmed customs officials.

Some of Mafatlal's friends suggest that the authorities decided to make an example of her just because she's wealthy and famous. Why else, they ask, was she not allowed to pay the penalty and walk home that night? Why was she made to spend a night in jail for a bailable offense? In the Sheetal Mafatlal saga, however, this incident is just one more strand of a complex story.

An ambitious Sheetal wooed and married Atulya Mafatlal, a married man and father of two, much against the wishes of both families. The Mafatlal matriarch, 75-year-old Madhuri, referred to Sheetal as "not being the right girl for my house" after Atulya and Sheetal took her to court over family property in September 2005. Atulya's three sisters also fell out with him. The youngest, Aparna, underwent a sex-change operation to become Ajay. Atulya and Sheetal accused him of undergoing the sex change only to grab a share in the multi-crore Mafatlal legacy. Atulya, as the natural-born son of late scion Yogindra Mafatlal, claims to be the only rightful heir. Through this sordid saga, Sheetal came across as the home-breaker, who had turned out her ageing mother-in-law over family inheritance. Attired in her skin-show haute couture, she didn't seem to care.

Though the family feud lends credence to the theory that Mumbai customs was tipped off about Sheetal on June 7, the tip-off could well have come from London—the British and Indian governments have signed a Double Taxation Avoidance treaty; and as Mafatlal had claimed refund of VAT at London airport, the information was routinely passed to Mumbai, where she should have paid the requisite duty.

Maybe Sheetal Mafatlal was ignorant of the law, or maybe she believed it would not catch up with her, but what is indisputable is that almost overnight, Mumbai's society queen has lost her throne and her style-icon aura.

Advertisement

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement