Goon Switches Side Towards NRI Man After Payment Failure From Ex-Wife

In a double cross that would have made for an entertaining crime drama, a hired goon switched sides over a payment dispute with a woman who wanted him to “break a few bones” of her ex- husband in Australia.

Yogesh Gupta, 53, went to the Melbourne East Police Station after he got a call from the criminal hired by his former wife. Based on the taped conversation that ran 4.18 minutes, he got restraining orders from the city court.

“The call came on August 21 and the caller told me that he had been keeping an eye on me,” Gupta was quoted as saying by India Today. “He told me that he knew my everyday schedule and where I would be at any point of time of the day. This was scary.”

He added: “The man then told me that he had instructions to break my legs and show the evidence of my hospitalisation to my former wife by the day she flies off to India, to collect his payment.”

When Gupta asked why the caller was giving him all the information, the latter admitted that his ex-wife Deepa had rescinded on the advance payment and had asked him to rob her husband for compensation.

He elaborated: “He said he was doing me this favour so that he can recover from me $322 (Rs 20,600), the money spent on my surveillance over the last two days.”

Gupta asked him to call back in a few hours to discuss payment, and rushed to the Melbourne Police. “When the hired goon called up again to discuss the payment, it was in the presence of the police officials,” he said.

In the third call, the goon told him that he would send his man to pick up the money spent on surveillance. In exchange, he would provide documentary evidence against his former wife. Based on the conversations, the police issued an arrest warrant against Deepa Gupta. She was produced before Melbourne Magistrate Court on August 25. She has been asked to stay 200 metres away from any place where the protected person — in this case, Yogesh Gupta — lives or works.

The court said in its restraining order: “The respondent must not commit family violence against the protected person, intentionally damage the property, attempt to locate or keep them under surveillance, publish on the internet any material about the victim.”

Yogesh and Deepa, both chartered accountants by profession, got divorced in Australia after 19 years of marriage, the report added. It also cited their relatives as saying that while Deepa wanted to continue her political career in India, Yogesh settled in Australia. The disagreement led to their separation and Deepa had also filed a dowry harassment case against Yogesh. The case is still pending in the court.