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."