Man poses as wealthy Indian family's missing son for 41 years, jailed

An Indian court has convicted a 62-year-old man who impersonated a wealthy Indian family's missing son for four decades.

In 1981, Dayanand Gosai approached Kameshwar and Ramsakhi Singh and claimed to be their only son, Kanhaiya, who went missing at the age of 16. Kameshwar, considered to be one of the wealthiest landlords in Nalanda, Bihar district, in the north east of India, took Gosai in after he approached the family.

However, his wife Ramakshi remained doubtful. She and their five daughters pointed out that Gosai could not be the missing son because he didn't have the same childhood scar as Kanhaiya.

When the family asked him questions to confirm his identity, Gosai could not answer any of them. He didn't recognise family members in photo albums, recall family events, or name any teachers at school. Still, Kameshwar remained convinced that Gosai was his son and allowed him to live in his home, which sat on 50 acres of the family's land.

Ramakshi continued to insist Gosai was not her son and went to court with the matter, but the case went on for decades. Fifteen years after Gosai met the family, both Kameshwar and Ramakshi died, leaving Gosai as the 'heir' of the family's fortune. He inherited the Singh family's land and property and later sold them for his own personal gains.

Rajesh Kumar, Ramakshi's lawyer, was quoted as saying: "Till her dying breath, she said this liar was not her son."

ALSO READ:

• India: Police hunt gang who worked for two days, dismantled and stole a bridge

• India: Thief gets stuck in hole he drilled to escape after looting temple

Following her mother's death, eldest daughter Vidya Singh went back to court to reopen the case against Gosai after police closed it. The evidence built up against Gosai, but the 62-year-old refused to take a DNA test despite a court ruling in 2019.

This week, he was sentenced to three years in jail on a charge of forgery and another six months for criminal conspiracy. Even during his trial, however, Gosai continued to keep up his act by producing a fake death certificate for himself. He tried to convince the court that he couldn't be himself and was the missing son.

• India