Who Is Mukesh Menaria, Man Allegedly Kidnapped, Murdered In Uganda By Vasundhara Oswal?

Vasundhara Oswal, daughter of Indian-origin billionaire Pankaj Oswal, has been held in Ugandan custody for over three weeks.

The 26-year-old faces charges of kidnapping and murdering Mukesh Menaria, who worked as cabin crew on her family's private jet and as domestic staff across their residences globally.

Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/vasundharaoswal

The Oswal family insists the allegations are false, claiming Menaria is alive and well in Tanzania and that a disgruntled employee, who has since recanted, fabricated the accusations.

Charged with serious allegations including homicide

On 1 October, Vasundhara Oswal was at her family's factory site in Uganda when armed officials detained her for questioning.

"As we now know, this ordeal began when armed corrupt officials took her away in a car under the pretence of questioning, after already conducting an unwarranted raid at the plant, where they found nothing," Vasundhara's sister, Riddhi Oswal, informed the Hindustan Times.

"We even filed for contempt of court after yet another day, but instead of releasing her, they took her to a lower court and charged her with inadmissible crimes like kidnapping and murder, immediately sending her to prison," Riddhi Oswal added.

The Oswal family believes that corrupt Ugandan officials are colluding with their business competitors.

"It has been absolutely shocking to see how much power these corrupt officials have and how they are clearly working in collaboration with business competitors who are determined to destroy our family and my sister at any cost," Riddhi told Hindustan Times.

Where is Mukesh Menaria?

The Oswal family states that Mukesh Menaria was located safe and well in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city. He has since signed an affidavit, viewed by HT.com, affirming he was never kidnapped or mistreated by his employers.

"He has openly admitted that his stay in Uganda was entirely voluntary, and he left the country of his own accord before being apprehended in Tanzania. This further disproves the baseless accusations made against Vasundhara," Riddhi Oswal told HT.com.

"While Menaria is currently under investigation in Tanzania for his own actions, he has still provided support to his former employers by submitting an affidavit, which has been duly notarised by the Commissioner of Oaths," she added.

The affidavit states that "misunderstandings and disputes" had arisen between the Oswal family and Menaria.

In his affidavit, Menaria acknowledged that these disagreements led him to act in ways that could be regarded as "dishonesty, breach of confidentiality and/or misappropriation of trade secrets."

As a result, the Oswal family did not permit him to travel to India. Instead, Menaria remained in Uganda voluntarily under an agreement between both parties. However, Menaria's son considered this treatment harassment and filed a complaint with Ugandan police.

Who is Mukesh Menaria?

Mukesh Menaria, originally from Rajasthan, served the Oswal family as cabin crew on their private jet and domestic staff across multiple residences since 2017. The relationship between Menaria and the Oswals deteriorated earlier this year.