Mumbai: Police in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai on Tuesday registered several FIRs for alleged cheating and other offences against builder Lalit Tekchandani, who is known to be close to several BJP leaders.

The FIRs were filed against his wife Kajal and associates Manula Mehbooba Kachwala, Arun Makhijani and others for allegedly duping 160 people of ₹44.25 crore. The builder and his associates had allegedly taken money from the complainants and promised them flats in a project, but failed to deliver even after 13 years.

Legal battle ensues

The complainants, who had eagerly anticipated moving into their new homes, now find themselves embroiled in a complex legal battle. The accused in the name of M/s Supreme Constructions & Development Pvt Ltd, promised to deliver apartments to the people at Clancity venture in Kharghar.

However, instead of fulfilling their commitment to deliver possession of the booked flats, the accused allegedly vanished and when the flat owners visited their office in Sector 10, Kharghar, it was locked and the board removed. Acting on a complaint filed by one of the aggrieved flat owners, Ganesh Kundansingh Bisht, 44, the Taloja police registered the FIR and launched investigations.

Homebuyers narrate their ordeal

According to the complaint, Bisht had booked a flat In Hexcity promoted by the accused in 2020. The complainant also paid a sum of ₹32 lakh to the accused towards registration and stamp duty of a 2 BHK apartment in Kharghar. Earlier, the developer had promised to give possession of the flat in 2014 only to postpone the same to 2017. The complainant agreed to the extension of delivery date since the project was under-construction. However, the accused failed to keep the promise and give the possession.

Irked over this, the complainant along with others filed a petition with the Bombay High Court, which admitted the same and ordered freezing of all bank accounts held by the accused. The court stated that the accused has failed to honour the agreement he had with Narendra Bhalla, the original owner of the plot on which the accused had planned to construct the building.

This incident raises serious concerns about the need for stringent regulations and oversight in the real estate sector to safeguard the interests of homebuyers. It also underscores the importance of due diligence and vigilance on the part of prospective property buyers to avoid falling victim to unscrupulous practices. Incidentally, noted activist Anjali Damania had also taken up the case of several victims.

Meanwhile, the Chembur police have registered an FIR against Tekchandani and five others for alleged cheating.

The FIR was registered on the complaint given by one Hira Jadhwani, a resident of Chembur, on Monday.

Lalit Tekchandani’s fraud unveiled

According to the police, Lalit and his wife Kajal were serving as directors at Supreme Construction and Developers Pvt Ltd (SCDPL) in 2012, when their company had an upcoming property being developed at Navi Mumbai’s Taloja under the name of Clan City project, a 12-tower residential project spread over 15 acres. Jadhwani’s friend Arun Makhijani, who worked at SCDPL, had shared about this project. “He told me there won’t be any need to pay all the money at once, we can share and pay it at our speed,” said Jadhwani in his statement to the police. He added that the project would be completed in 2017-18, and by December 2017, they would hand over the flat.

Jadhwani had finalised a 1BHK, which cost ₹36 lakh. By end of 2016, he had paid ₹16 lakh and got an additional home loan of ₹25 lakh for the flat. By the end, including the registration fees, and taxes, Jadhwani had paid ₹41 lakh to SCDPL, he said. However, when he visited the project, the construction was held over, and officials at SCDPL had stopped responding to an update on the possession date.

In the FIR, like Jadhwani, other names are included who had paid lakhs of money but were cheated by the SCDPL. It includes Jivit Manglani, 60, Navin Mehta, 43, and Pagar Jadhav, 50 – and 105 people – who were assured of a flat at the Clan City project by taking their money but are to date waiting for their money back.

Along with Lalit and Kajal Tekchandani, the FIR mentions the names of Arun Makhijani, Manulla Kanchwala, Mirza Mohammad Noorul Hasan Ibrahim – who are also directors of SCDPL, etc, as accused.